Sewage concerns over new housing development

The 750 homes will be built at Burtree Garden Village in north Darlington

A council has been warned a town's sewage system will not be able to cope with a new housing development.

Approval was granted for 750 homes as part of the Burtree Garden Village development in Darlington.

But a meeting of Darlington Borough Council's planning committee was told the water quality and sewage treatment facilities in the borough were in danger due to the growing population.

However, the council said it had received assurances from Northumbria Water that the system could cope with the increased demand.

Retired sewage worker Ken Maddison told the meeting the population in Darlington had increased from 50,000 to more than 100,000 since the Stressholme sewage facility - the town's principal treatment works - was built in 1939.

Local resident David Clark, who was also present, said: "Last year, we had more raw sewage spills into the River Skerne and Tees than the year before. Could that be down to all the new builds?"

The Environment Agency (EA) said additional foul flows from the Burtree development could "put the waterbody at risk of deterioration and prevent the waterbody from achieving Good Ecological Potential".

An EA statement submitted to the council added: "Therefore, it will not be appropriate to connect the development to Stressholme until the applicant has demonstrated that there will be no environmental impact by accommodating this proposed development and/or until the treatment works are sufficiently upgraded."

'Duty to improve water quality'

Meanwhile, Green Party councillors warned of the waste that could cause environmental damage to the River Skerne.

"We, as a council, have a duty to improve the water quality in the borough and must ensure these combined overflow issues do not make our water quality worse," councillor Bryony Holroyd said.

Despite their assurances to the council, representatives from Northumbrian Water were not present at the meeting to respond to any concerns.

But councillor Libby McCollom of Labour said she believed the issues raised could be "adequately dealt with" by the responsible local authorities.

The Burtree development in Faverdale, in the north of Darlington, will be built on old farmland near Burtree Lane, Faverdale Industrial Estate and the A68.

It will eventually see 2,000 homes constructed over a 20-year period, along with a new school, community centre, pub, and health facilities.

There will also be a new access road built from Rotary Way to Burtree Lane.

But a decision on the remaining 1,250 homes will be taken in the future.