Work begins on the 2,000-home Burtree Garden Village in Darlington, featuring new amenities and infrastructure.
They signed a community fund agreement for the village. It’s in Faverdale and will have 2,000 homes. The whole project will take around 20 years to finish. They will build it on old farmland near Burtree Lane.
You’ll also see a new school, pub, and health center. A Section 106 agreement outlines developer responsibilities. It includes building key infrastructure and affordable housing. They will build a new access road from Rotary Way to Burtree Lane.
The Darlington council will consider plans for 1,250 homes later. The council approved the plan in May 2024. Some residents and council members had concerns, though. They thought there weren’t enough affordable homes.
One resident, David Clark, said people struggle to buy homes. People also worry about sewage, flooding, and traffic. Hellens Group leads the garden village project. Homes England pledged £43 million towards the scheme last year.
The CEO of Hellens Group is happy to start work soon. Another garden village, Skerningham, is also coming to Darlington. It’ll be north of the town. Skerningham will connect to Beaumont Hill and other communities. It will cover 487 hectares of land eventually.