MIDDLESBROUGH Council has refused a development in Hemlington that would have destroyed a designated green space by cutting down one hectare of trees.

The decision was made at the Planning and Development Committee meeting on Friday, October 15 with a number of councillors citing concern over the destruction of trees and of worsening a situation at a ‘dangerous’ junction.

If planning permission was successful, 18 dormer bungalows would have been built on woodland, that is classed as a green wedge, behind Hemlington Lane.

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Hemlington Lane resident John Jones, who is in his sixties, thought it was wrong that the town, which has received £500,000 from the Forestry Commission to plant more trees, would be cutting down woodland in other areas.

Speaking at the committee meeting, he added: “To be paid to destroy woodland on one hand and then to take half a million pounds of public money to plant trees is a double standard.”

Councillor Coupe, the Conservative group leader, was also concerned about the loss of trees.

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He added: “The problem I have, looking at that site, is that there are so many mature trees.

“You have the Mayor who is trying, along with the Wildlife Trust, to put more trees into Middlesbrough in different areas but what we are doing here is proposing to destroy existing ones.

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“As Middlesbrough expands more and more there will be less of that. A thing that the people of Middlesbrough really like is green spaces. [If the application was successful] it’s just another little area gone and forgotten.”

Around one hectare of trees will be destroyed to make way for the bungalows.

Kader ward councillor Ron Arundale believes that the sacrifice of the trees in this instance would be ‘without justification’ and that the project is driven by profits.

He added: “It fails to address the implications on both the residents of Hemlington Lane and the environment. It is driven by the desire to maximise revenue regardless of the effect on others.”

One of the key reasons committee chair Cllr John Hobson was against the development was the loss of biodiversity.

He added: “I am one of those people who want to save the planet and I believe the cutting down of trees is not a criminal act obviously, but it is close to it.”

Craig Van Bedaf, who is representing the developer Ken Shannon and is a director at Pod, the Newcastle-based architecture firm which designed the development, was at the meeting.

He said that they would be making a contribution of £2,500 to ensure the planting of around 2,500 trees elsewhere.

The council’s planners also said that the area did not function how the other green wedge spaces in the area did and believed that the development should be allowed to go ahead.

‘Recipe for disaster’

The other main issue councillors raised about the development was the junction between Hemlington Lane, which would serve as an access road to the new homes, and Ladgate Lane.

Hemlington Lane resident Mr Jones said that the additional vehicles, along with the construction traffic, would cause ‘a recipe for disaster’ at the junction and said there had been a lot of ‘near misses’ in the past.

The council’s planners said that Ladgate Lane was currently being reduced to 30mph – at this speed drivers need a visibility distance of 45 metres and it is currently between 70 and 80 metres.

The developer was also planning to carry out £100,000 worth of highways improvements including a right turning lane to enter and exit Hemlington Lane, a footpath on Hemlington Lane and a pelican crossing on Ladgate Lane.

A number of councillors present at the meeting suggested a different access road into the new estate, however, the council’s highways officer Simon Thompson said that Hemlington Lane would still be the preferred option.

He also added that it currently met all highways guidance to serve the proposed development.

‘Mature people and older generations are simply not being listened to’ 

Mr Van Bedaf said that this was the only new-build scheme in Middlesbrough containing only bungalows.

He added: “Both Mr Shannon and I completely feel there is a huge shortage of high-quality spacious bungalows in Middlesbrough and that more mature people and older generations are simply not being listened to when it comes to new developments in the region.”

In his statement, he also said that the homes were designed to a high sustainable standard and that the developer would be providing a £425,000 contribution for affordable housing, which he described as ‘generous’ given the size of the development.

Cllr Janet Thompson was the only member to abstain from the vote and the seven other committee members voted against the proposals.

There will be an opportunity for Mr Shannon to appeal this decision.

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