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Banks Property launch new East Cramlington residential development plans

A community event designed to introduce outline plans for a new residential development in East Cramlington is set to take place later this month.

North East employer Banks Property is developing proposals for a new housing scheme on an eight hectare site to the south of the B1326 and the east of the A189, which it has named Chapel View.

The scheme would include approximately 200 two-storey homes for families and first time buyers, as well as areas of informal green space and a sustainable urban drainage system, and would sit to the east of Cramlington’s new specialist Emergency Care Hospital, which is scheduled to open next summer.

Family-owned Banks has begun consultations with local residents and community leaders about the project, and will be looking to widen this ideas-gathering process by bringing its exhibition unit to Weldon Road in East Cramlington between 2pm and 7pm on Tuesday 18th November 2014.

Members of the Banks project team will be on hand to answer questions about what they’re looking to do, and to get further ideas from local people about how they think the overall development package might achieve the maximum economic, environmental and social benefit for the local community.

Ideas that have been put forward so far include making improvements to local footpaths and cycleways, improving recreational and play areas for children and introducing new traffic calming measures.

The Chapel View project is being designed to bring a range of economic, employment, environmental, supply chain and social benefits to the local area, which would follow on from the £800k of funding provided by the Banks Community Fund to local groups and good causes in Northumberland over the last decade.

Banks is one of Northumberland’s largest private sector employers, with around 200 people employed at the nearby Shotton and Brenkley Lane surface mines.

The Durham-headquartered firm has worked in the area for more than three decades, and its local operations contribute around £35 million to the regional economy every year through wages, investments and the local supply chain.

Environment and community director at The Banks Group, Mark Dowdall, said: “There is a clear and increasingly pressing need across the North East to increase the available supply of quality homes, and we firmly believe that young families in the region should have the opportunity to live in the places where they grew up or where they wish to be.

“The Chapel View development already has excellent road and sustainable transport links, would be designed to complement existing residential development within the local community, and is in an area where we are certain there will be strong demand for the type of high quality housing we’re looking to bring forward.

“The initial response we’ve had from local people to our ideas has been very encouraging, and we’re holding the event on the 18th to try to gather even more local opinion on what sort of improvements to the local area the Chapel View development might facilitate, so we hope as many people as possible will come along on the day.”

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