MORE than 1,000 people have signed up to support a 15-page dossier of objections to a key planning document which recommends 900 new homes for Hexham – 600 of which would be on prime green belt land.

Residents involved in the Protect Hexham Green Belt Group, with support from local councillors, have prepared the document which argues that figures for the town included in Northumberland County Council’s Core Strategy are excessive.

The objections, submitted as part of a six-week consultation on “major modifications” to the plan which closed on Wednesday, also claim that the council has failed to demonstrate the exceptional circumstances required to allow for the deletion of a vast green belt site off Shaws Lane.

Included in the proposal for the site is a parcel of land off West Road identified as suitable for new school buildings, while the document also highlights some infrastructure improvements, including to the west end junction with the A69.

“In just a week and a half over 1,000 local residents have signed up to show their support for the objections outlined by the green belt group,” said member Paul Bell.

“These are not just people in the west of the town where these homes would be built, but people genuinely concerned about the knock-on effects of traffic jams in the town centre, destroying the character of the place and Hexham becoming a commuter town.”

As well as outlining objections to the core strategy proposals for Hexham, which include “improper disregard of alternative sites” and “serious flaws” in the town’s infrastructure, the green belt group have also analysed the impact that projections for the county.

They argue that after allowing for population increases, the council’s proposed housing growth for the county of 24,320 new dwellings, is 500 per cent more than the national average.

County councillor for Hexham East, Cath Homer, said: “Throughout this whole process the council has shown a blatant disregard for the towns themselves and the people in them, when they are the ones who know best what the problems are in their local area.”

The consultation is the final stage before the final strategy is submitted for review by an independent inspector.

The council’s proposed timetable for completion of the core strategy would see it agreed in November and submitted to Government in December before adoption next summer.