Durham University has recently put in two planning proposals:
- a new Teaching and Learning Centre at St Mary’s Field, South Road
- extension and refurbishment of the existing sports centre and the construction of a new tennis centre, Maiden Castle
For the St Mary’s Field proposal our response can be summarised as:
The Durham City Draft Neighbourhood Plan makes no conflicting proposals for St Mary’s Field and therefore the principle of appropriate University development on this site is accepted. However, we are, amongst many other considerations, concerned about the adequacy of the city’s infrastructure to cope with the traffic that will be generated under the Masterplan’s proposals. In particular, there are severe existing problems in relation to pedestrian and cycling capacity in several parts of the network, and the South Road section is one of the most pressing.
Our full response is available for download: NPF Response Mary’s Field Proposal
For the Maiden Castle proposal our response can be summarised as:
The Draft Durham City Neighbourhood Plan confirms the existing statutory Green Belt within the area covered by the Plan, including the Maiden Castle grounds. Accordingly, the Plan is fully aligned with the Green Belt safeguards set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and relevant Saved Policies of the City of Durham Local Plan 2004. We object to the Maiden Castle planning application on the grounds that it represents inappropriate development which, by definition, is harmful to the Green Belt and that there are not the very special circumstances to warrant approving it, contrary to NPPF Paragraphs 87 – 89 and Saved Policy E1 of the City of Durham Local Plan 2004.
Our full response is available for download: NPF Response Maiden Castle Proposal
