Council gives green light to major Hartlepool housing development

The edge of the land near High Tunstall Farm where up to 1,200 homes could be built.

Hartlepool Borough Council’s Planning Committee backed the plans for the development - put forward in 2014 - in the High Tunstall area.

Councillors voted on three applications as part of the development.

The larger application on ‘land south of Elwick Road, High Tunstall’ is for new homes, as well as a new primary school, new road, local centre, open space and planting.

A new roundabout would be built on Elwick Road to provide the main entry and exit into the site.

It is expected the distributor road will eventually form part of a new western relief road for the town.

They also voted on land south of Elwick Road which includes building up to 153 houses and up to 55 self-build houses.

The third application on land at Quarry Farm, Elwick Road, for 220 residential houses was also approved.

Under the plans it is proposed to close the Dalton Piercy and Elwick central reservation gaps on the A19 and improve the A179 Sheraton junction to ease traffic issues.

During the consultation process a total of 482 objections were received by Hartlepool Borough Council, largely around concerns about the impact the development will have on the road network.

Elwick Parish Council was strongly opposed to any development in the area until a new relief road has been built.

Issues raised in the report included increased traffic through Elwick, queuing on A19 around Elwick and Dalton Piercy, and more traffic and congestion at the Elwick Road/Wooler Road/Park Road junction.

But despite objections ahead of the meeting, the majority of councillors voted in favour of the plans, saying the village will ultimately benefit from the scheme.

Conservative Coun Ray Martin-Wells acknowledged that some residents will be put through some discomfort throughout the proposal, but urged his colleagues to back the plans, saying: “I, along with my colleagues, see the benefits of the scheme.

“I think the village will ultimately benefit from the bypass and the separate junction.

“I think all of the development is of a high quality.

“I will be supporting this application and urge my colleagues to do the same.”