BELLWAY Homes has been given the green light to build 75 new homes in Haydon Bridge.

The developer’s application for 75 properties on land west of the showfield was approved at a meeting of Northumberland County Council’s Strategic Planning and Works Committee.

The development, comprising a mix of terraced, bungalow and detached house types, will include 11 affordable homes.

At Tuesday’s meeting, senior planner Ian Birkett said that an in principle agreement had been reached with the developer to contribute towards maintenance of the existing play area as part of a section 106 agreement.

The development would be accessed via an existing road running through the housing estate, exiting on to Church Street, which leads to the village centre.

However, the development has attracted objections from both Haydon Bridge Parish Council and Shaftoe Trust Primary School, which sits directly opposite the access road for the homes.

During the consultation process, the school’s governing body expressed serious concerns about the additional traffic undermining safety.

This was echoed in the objection from the parish council, who noted that many parents park around the Showfield entrance, a situation which could be exacerbated by a further 75 households.

The council also raised concerns over a reported infestation of Japanese knotweed at the western boundary of the proposed site.

Both issues were brought up by Coun. Ian Hutchinson at Tuesday’s meeting.

Highways development officer Graham Fairs told the meeting that there was no evidence the additional traffic would affect the area enough to support a refusal of the application.

And Mr Birkett said an additional condition could be attached to the consent calling for a checking survey for Japanese knotweed to be submitted to the authority before any work could take place.

Members of the planning committee voted unanimously to approve the application.