A DECISION to sacrifice acres of green belt land in Hexham for 600 homes and build a further 300 in other areas of the town is reaching the point of no return, despite pleas to rethink the whole scheme.

Although agreeing that planning officers should do more work to rationalise the decision, Northumberland County Council’s economic growth and strategic transport overview and scrutiny committee wouldn’t put the plans on hold this week.

The councillors on the committee decided to press ahead, because of fears that more delays in the preparation of Northumberland’s Core Strategy could lead to Government intervention.

Instead the committee, which met at County Hall on Tuesday, directed that public events should take place in each of the towns, during a consultation on the controversial measures in the key planning document.

The consultation is due to take place between June 15 and July 27.

It was revealed last week that the latest version of the document proposes a return to a controversial plan for 900 homes in Hexham overall.

Two thirds of these would would be built on a vast open space off Shaws Lane.

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

The changes appear to abandon the most recent version of the document, consulted on last year, which outlined a climbdown in the housing allocation for Hexham from 900 to 720, and identified five small sites for development.

Elsewhere, in Ponteland the proposal to remove an area of green belt at the south east of the town for future development, has remained the same.

However, safeguarded employment land near the airport has been removed from the strategy and a two hectare area of land at Prestwick Park has been allocated for additional office development.

Changes to land allocated for employment development have also been outlined for Morpeth.

Tuesday’s meeting heard that of the 600 homes planned for the Shaws Lane site in Hexham, around 480 are expected to be delivered within the plan period, which runs until 2031, and the balance of 120 would come after that time.

County councillor for Hexham East, Cath Homer, who has been working with the Hexham Green Belt Group of residents since 2013 on addressing concerns over housing numbers and locations, was given permission to speak to the committee along with resident Paul Bell.

“In my opinion the detail for Hexham remains flawed in terms of household numbers, economic strategy, infrastructure plans – or lack of them – and sites to develop,” she said.

“The council has still not established an objectively assessed need for 900 houses in our town.

“The last thing I want is for the plan to fail at independent examination, but at this moment in time, I fear that could happen.

“I am asking scrutiny members today to recommend to cabinet to defer the consultation until a thorough reassessment of the local plan for Hexham at least has been undertaken by council officers.”

Coun. John Riddle argued that what was being recommended for Hexham was not proportionate.

“At the moment I think we’re rushing it.

“We all want this plan to succeed, but it needs to be done properly.

“The housing projections seem overly optimistic and over the top. It’s a developers’ charter.

“Meanwhile, Hexham is already bursting at the seams.

“It took me an hour to get through the town yesterday to an appointment. It’s absolute chaos.

“I would support a short deferral and a bit more work.”

Coun. Andrew Tebbutt said: “We’re in real danger as a council of being held to ransom by developers.

“We do not need 24,000 more homes across Northumberland during the plan period. We should have stuck to the original plan of 18,000.

“It’s a ludicrous situation we’re now in.

“I would support a short delay to make sure we get this right.”

Mark Ketley, the council’s senior development and delivery manager, said: “There’s a risk of Government intervention if we don’t have a plan in place before early 2017.

“A huge amount of work has gone in to get the plan to where it is.

“We’re convinced the proposals are sound and robust.

“I honestly don’t see what a review would achieve.”

Director of planning and economy, Geoff Paul, said: “For five years, officers have been lambasted for not getting this plan to fruition.

“The last thing we need is to delay it any further.”

Committee chairman, Coun. Alan Sambrook, suggested events be held in the towns affected as part of the planned consultation.

He said another meeting would then be arranged to allow officers to report back to the committee on their findings.

A final decision on the major modifications to the plan will be taken by members of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday.

gemma.brown@hexham-courant.co.uk