Copelaw housing development, Newton Aycliffe

The location

Copelaw is to the east of Newton Aycliffe, beyond the A167. The A167 provides an important north to south road link connecting Darlington and Durham. Surrounding the site to the north and east is agricultural land. Ricknall Lane borders the site along its southern boundary. The site will be accessed from Central Avenue and Ricknall Lane. Safe pedestrian crossing points will be created across the A167.

The existing North East Centre for Autism and the Aycliffe Secure Centre will remain open. It is included in the planning application boundary.

The development

The development would include:

• up to 1,343 high-quality homes, including a mixture of house types, tenures such as owner-occupier or rented, and sizes
• 92 extra care apartments
• 15% of houses will be affordable homes
• 10% of all houses will be suitable for the needs of older people, such as bungalows and level access flats
• a primary school with space for 210 children and a nursery unit with space for 26 children
• community facilities, for example, local shop(s) or health services
• new and improved pedestrian and cycle routes around the area, including across the A167
• landscaping around the edge of the site
• a network of green areas including a Parkland Zone
• natural play and trim trails in woodland areas

Studies have found that there are ground nesting birds (Curlew), so a new habitat will be created for them. We will make sure the drainage systems are sustainable, making sure that rainwater can be stored and released into rivers in a controlled way, as well as creating environmental benefits.

What's happened so far

• A pre-application was submitted to the Local Planning Authority on 21 August 2023.
• We consulted on the proposed development in May 2024, before we submitted a planning application, to try and address any of your queries and update the proposal if needed, before a planning application was submitted.
• The planning application for the junction works at the A167/Central Avenue (B6443) was approved 28 June 2023 and is currently under construction.

What's happening now

The outline planning application was submitted on the 18 July 2024. It is available to view and comment on, on our planning portal, using the reference DM/24/01978/OUT and includes the consultation feedback. An overview of the development proposals can be found in the Design and Access Statement - Part 1 and Part 2. The deadline for comments is Thursday 12 September 2024.

What happens next

If the development is granted planning permission, it will be built in phases over the next 30 years by a combination of house builders.

About the project

Part of our Vision for 2035 is that County Durham is a place offering jobs, long and independent lives and well connected and supported communities. Providing high-quality housing is part of this. It is also one of the key aims of our Housing Strategy, supported by planning policy in the County Durham Plan (CDP) and the Great Aycliffe Neighbourhood Plan (PDF, 6 MB) (GANP). The CDP works alongside the GANP in setting out the needs and aspirations for the area, and planning applications in the Great Aycliffe area need to be considered against both documents.

The Church Commissioners for England are working together with us, and with the support of Homes England and the Department for Education, to deliver a high quality, sustainable housing development site at Copelaw, Newton Aycliffe.

The applicant for the Copelaw planning application is ourselves (as the landowner), and the Church Commissioners for England.