Village at risk of overdevelopment, councillor says
GoogleA village is at "risk of being overdeveloped", a councillor has said, with hundreds of new homes planned despite concerns about pressure on local services.
Durham County councillor Louise Penders, Reform representative for Easington and Shotton, raised the concern as plans for 25 affordable homes were approved for the area.
The Easington Colliery development is part of the council's ambition to make more housing available for local people.
But Penders said the village would not be able to cope, with hundreds of new homes also in line to be built.
Speaking at a planning committee meeting, Penders said three approved housing developments, which have yet to be built, would add about 950 homes to the village, while a further 96 homes had recently been completed on another estate, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
She also criticised separate plans to demolish 49 bungalows and replace them with 38 mixed bungalows and houses, saying elderly residents had been forced to move away from the area.
"At least 49 elderly residents have had to relocate, some as far as Bishop Auckland and Darlington," she said.
"These residents have lived in Easington their whole life and have left behind children and grandchildren."
'Infrastructure cannot cope'
Further housing growth would place additional strain on schools, GP services and dentists, Penders said.
"There is no amount of Section 106 money that can create extra classrooms or build bigger schools, doctors or dentists in the colliery," she told the committee.
"Residents who have lived here for years have to travel to Peterlee to see a doctor, and seeing a dentist is nigh on impossible.
"The infrastructure cannot cope with the residents that we have now, let alone adding more residents to the equation."
The council said residents would receive priority when the 25 properties at the former Easington Colliery Primary School site were available.
"The proposed scheme is in a suitable location with the development having excellent links to local services and facilities," the local authority said.
