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Strong exhibition turnout for proposed Hazlerigg residential development

Around 140 people have turned out to take a first look at plans for a new residential development to the north of Newcastle.

North East employer Banks Property is putting forward outline proposals for the Hazlerigg scheme, which would be located on a 20 hectare site to the west of Hazlerigg village and the south of Brunswick village.

The scheme, which would be created in line with the principles of sustainable development, would include around 500 homes, and would be designed to complement and enhance the existing character of the local area, as well as to bring to it a wide range of economic, social, environmental, employment and supply chain benefits.

Banks Property held a community exhibition at Hazlerigg War Memorial Hall to enable local people to see the proposal and to ask questions and express their opinions directly to the project team.

A programme of meetings with local people, businesses and community organisations will now follow to ensure all interested parties are able to put forward their ideas and comments about the Hazlerigg proposals in advance of the submission of an outline planning application to Newcastle City Council later in the year.

The proposed Hazlerigg site has been identified in NewcastleGateshead’s ‘One’ Core Strategy as a suitable location for this type of residential development.

The Banks Group currently employs over 200 people across the nearby Brenkley Lane and Shotton surface mine sites, which jointly contribute around £35m to the regional economy every year through wages, investments and the local supply chain, as well as more than £400,000 in annual business rates to Northumberland County Council and Newcastle City Council.

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at The Banks Group, says: “Getting so many people along to this exhibition is extremely pleasing, and there was a lot of very useful discussion about the different elements of the scheme that we’re looking to take forward.

“The feedback that we collected will be used by our project team as they continue to add more detail to our proposals, and we’ll be holding further discussions with local people to maximise their involvement with the design work we’re undertaking.

“There is an acknowledged need for more homes to be built across the North East in order to meet the needs of a growing population, and we believe the Hazlerigg site offers an excellent option for around 500 new homes in a location which we know will be very popular with people wanting to move to or stay in the area.

“As well as offering much-needed new homes, this development could bring many other tangible benefits to the local area, including new jobs, new commercial opportunities for local companies and substantial funding for community improvements that would make a real, long-term difference to the facilities that local residents enjoy.”

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