Residents Angry on Proposed New Houses to be Built
Hartlepool Borough Council has received a petition from angry residents who are up in arms reference a proposed housing development to build 13 semi-detached houses within the Rift House area.
Endeavour Housing Association has already applied for the planning permission to build the new houses which will supply accommodation for up to 64 new residents. The development called ‘The Browning Avenue’ is to be built on a strip of open green land that divides Spenser Grove and Dickens Grove.
The residents believe the new houses will be out of character and the amount of new people could well over-populate the area and swamp local schools and doctors.
A spokeswoman for the residents of the Spenser and Dickens Groves’ said "The development would devalue our houses and some people have spent thousands doing theirs up. "Where will all the kids go to play as well? One of the major problems though is the number of cars that will be here. Each house will have space for two vehicles and the area would be gridlocked."
Fears that the new houses would cause more traffic on the roads are running high, as well as concerns it will no longer be safe for the children to play within the area. Plans for garages to be built on the back of the new houses with access only from Spenser Grove are also an issue with the residents.
Councillor Lillian Sutheran, of the Rift House ward, has joined the fight to stop the development. She said: "This is a key part of the estate that we should be looking to protect”.
"We shouldn't be building on it. I think it's very important that when the planning committee meet, as many residents as possible turn up and object to the plans."
Building Local Reputation
The close knit community have all purchased their houses from the council and spent a lot of time, money and effort on remodelling their homes and building it up to the good reputation it has today.
There is to be a consultation meeting for the community on Monday the 18th February at the Browning Avenue Baptist Church where group development manager Barrie Westbrook for Endeavour Housing Association has invited the people along to discuss any concerns they have.
He told newspaper reporters "At the consultation we will have a book to record any comment which we will then feed back to the planning committee."
The new development of three and four bed-roomed properties available to rent is certainly going to help those in need of housing – but it brings the saying of ‘build where needed, but not in my backyard’ to the forefront!
