Plans for 53 houses at the former Seabridge Community Education Centre have been approved by Newcastle Borough Council despite reservations from councillors.

Previously, the application was deferred due to concerns over bin collections and felling of 14 mature trees.

The plans for the former Seabridge Community Education Centre on Roe Lane will see a mix of two storey houses between two and five bedrooms, with 25 per cent of the units being affordable housing. 

The applicant made a number of changes to the application which took on board the feedback from the previous committee meeting. The changes include extending the adopted highway by nine metres, this means the distance that residents would have to walk to empty their bin was reduced from 30 metres to 24 metres.

The site, on Roe Lane, will see a mix of two-storey houses (Vistry Homes).

Eleanor Lovett, planning agent, told the planning committee: "We have listened to the concerns and tried to respond or amend the scheme where feasible. Overall, this is strongly viewed that this scheme will turn high quality residential development on this vacant brownfield site in the urban area."

However she told the committee that the applicant did seek to retain the existing mature trees on the site technical constraints and restrictions on access to the site, which was agreed previously meant that the trees needed to be removed. However to offset the loss tree planting would take place and would be replaced if they were damaged or unviable for five years.

Councillor Mark Holland told the committee: "We are still in a position of not having quite as much adopted highway as some of us here would like, we are told we could have more but it would be at a cost of the one remaining tree that is due to be retained. I'm not sure that's true, I think an alternative solution is available albeit they are not solutions available to us today.

The application was narrowly passed with a number of councillors abstaining or voting against the plans (Google).

"So while a lot of it is welcome, the movement of the electricity substation, the careful thought that's gone into refuse collection. I still have concerns about plot 43, I know the residents nearby do and I note no changes have been proposed to that. On that basis I don't feel able to vote for the scheme in front of us tonight."

The application was narrowly passed with a number of councillors abstaining or voting against the proposal.

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