Whitworth Park

Introduction

Barratt Homes are developing plans for residential development on land at Whitworth Park, Spennymoor. 

The northward expansion of this residential scheme presents a logical and sustainable expansion to the North West of Spennymoor and will meet an unmet housing need in Durham for family friendly housing. The views and key vistas of the Whitworth area have been recognised and significant efforts have taken place to protect and enhance the area. The Masterplan has therefore been shaped to reflect this, and features significant public open space, landscaping, sustainable drainage and biodiversity net gain.  

This is the final phase of development and DPP will shortly be submitting a planning application to Durham County Council on behalf of Barratt Homes. We are providing you with an opportunity to view and comment on the scheme in advance of this and would greatly appreciate your feedback. 

The Site

The site is approximately 13.9ha of greenfield land which forms an extension to the applicant‘s Whitworth Park development. It is approximately 11km to the south of Durham, 22km to the north of Darlington and 6.8km to the east of Bishop Auckland. 

The area surrounding the site is predominantly residential, with earlier phases of the Whitworth Park residential development to the south of the site. To the west of the site lies Burton Beck Farm and to the north is undeveloped land, however the northwest corner has been utilised for previous phases of development and contains a system of small field perimeter ditches used to collect surface water flows which is then drained directly to existing watercourses.

The Proposal

The Proposed Development seeks to deliver an extension to Whitworth Park, comprising approximately 300 units, with associated access, car parking and landscaping works. 

Please click this link to view the PDF version of the Indicative Framework Masterplan

This masterplan sees a landscape-led scheme, with large areas of public realm, parkland and green infrastructure. The Masterplan now envisions an entrance square when entering the site from Allerton Way, providing a ‘sense of arrival’ with buildings framed by green space. A reduction in the number of homes has provided a greater opportunity to incorporate areas of open space, recreational routes and sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS). A minimum 50m buffer is to be provided around the ancient woodland surrounding the site, with the development set well back from Burton Beck Farm.

Masterplan Benefits

Providing your Feedback

Your views and ideas will help us shape our plans: 

• Do you agree that it is positive that the scheme includes a mix of dwelling sizes, affordable housing and bungalows? 
• Do you agree that the proposal includes for a range of green space such as recreation space, amenity spaces and parkland? 
• Do you agree with the masterplan making use of the existing access to the site? 
• Do you support the proposal for biodiversity net gains? 

We welcome any feedback you may have on the proposed development. Please send us any comments you may have on the proposed development via the online feedback form below. Alternatively, you can email any comments to consultation@dppukltd.com, quoting the site address in the subject heading. Your comments will be logged, and a member of the project team will review these. Please send your comments to us by no later than Sunday 27th November 2022.

The design team will be available for an online presentation and Q&A session at 6-7pm on 23rd November and if you would like to join this session, please e-mail consultation@dppukltd.com and we will send you an invite.

We look forward to receiving your comments on the proposed development.