The Parish Council has formally objected to the proposed developments Ha2 North of White Horse Pub/Inn and Ha5 South of 22-24, Burtree Lane which are in Borough Council's Making and Growing Places Consultation Document and have requested that these sites be not included in any future forward planning documents for the Borough Council area.

The grounds for the Parish Council's objections to these two developments are as follows:

Objection 1. Impact on schools.

The two proposed housing development sites in the Parish were not mentioned in Darlington School Organisation Plan 2013-2017 which plans school places in the Borough. The document proposes that there will be 130 additional houses on the two sites, but there is no indication of the likely number of children living on the two sites, where they will go to school or the impact on the existing schools in the area.

The nearest Primary Schools are Harrowgate Hill Primary School and St. Bede's RC Primary School. Harrowgate Hill Primary School has a capacity for 630 pupils. The School Organisation Plan 2013-2017 envisages that the capacity of the school will be exceeded in 2017 and there will be 641 pupils attending the school in that year which does not include these two developments in the Parish. St. Bede's RC Primary School has a current capacity for 210 pupils. The School Organisation Plan envisages that the capacity will be exceeded in the period from 2014 to 2017. In 2017 there will be 234 pupils on the school roll.

Longfield Academy will exceed its capacity in Year 10 in 2013, Years 10 and 11 in 2014, Year 8 in 2015, Years 8 and 9 in 2016 and Years 8, 9 and 10 in 2017.

It was mentioned at the Consultation Meeting that the builder would be asked to make a contribution per house towards extending a Primary School. Harrowgate Hill Primary School in particular is in a very tight location to the rear of housing on Thompson Street West and borders North Park. The school has recently been expanded to 630 places and further expansion is not physically possible.

There will be a severe shortage of school places at both the primary and secondary level when the housing development on the Corus site on Whessoe Road is built. This development was mentioned in the School Organisation Committee whereas the two housing sites in the Parish were not.

Objection 2 impact on traffic Flows on the A167 and Burtree Lane.

The Parish Council is concerned that the A167 and Burtree Lane are already heavily congested with traffic at peak times in the early morning and in the late afternoon/early evening The Parish Council have asked for information on the projected increase in the number of vehicle movements which the two developments will be generated on Burtree Lane and the A167. This information has not been given to the Parish Council. The Parish Council has been informed by the Borough Council that this will not be known until any developments come forward and that a developer would need to produce a Transport Statement or Assessment to identify level of trip generation against existing junctions. Depending on the level of increase a developer would be expected to mitigate for any extra queuing that the developments create.

The Parish Council is not convinced that a developer will mitigate for traffic flows and easing congestion because of their interest in selling properties. The Parish Council therefore believes that the A167 and Burtree Lane cannot take any additional traffic which would be generated by these developments in the Parish.

Objection 3 Access and Egress from the two sites

Burtree Lane is a narrow road which is heavily congested at peak times in the early morning and in the late afternoon/early evening. The A167 is a major link road between the A1 and the A66 and has large numbers of traffic movements throughout the day and evening. The Parish Council have asked where will be the access and egress from and to the two sites and if the existing roads i.e. Burtree Lane and the A167 can cope with the additional traffic.

The Borough Council have indicated that the access and egress will be in Burtree Lane, but this is not certain. The Borough Council have also stated that depending on the information provided in the Transport Statement/Assessment a different arrangement may produce less impact on the highway network, but this is not clear. The Parish Council are not clear and are asking for clarification on the 'different arrangements' because there are only two roads and the additional site ( Ha14 North of Glebe Road) will also result in additional traffic.

Objection 4 Environmental Impact

The Parish Council is concerned about the loss of the existing green fields, the loss of habitats for animals and species and the overcrowding of housing developments in the area which will result from the two proposed housing sites.

Ojection 5 Loss of the semi rural aspect of this part of the Parish

The two proposed sites will take away the green wedge and rural aspect between Burtree Lane and the A167. It will take away the rural views from the properties on the eastern side of the A167.