The Area Planning Committee (North) of County Durham Council was scheduled to discuss a proposal for a new access road to Hamsterley Hall. The meeting's agenda also included standard procedural items.

New Access Road to Hamsterley Hall

The committee was scheduled to consider an application for a new access road to Hamsterley Hall, including the provision for crossing the Hamsterley Burn. The existing access road to the Grade II* listed building had become unsafe due to a landslip.

The proposed new route would involve:

• Using the existing access onto the B6310 at a gatehouse.
• Crossing a paddock and tracking west, bypassing a listed bridge and formal gates.
• Passing between areas of woodland to cross a small watercourse via a new low culvert crossing.
• Rejoining the original line of the drive.

The report pack indicated that the proposal aimed to enable the long-term viable use of Hamsterley Hall as a heritage asset and to restore a public right of way compromised by the landslip. It also noted potential harms to heritage assets and a landscape designation, which were considered to be less than substantial and outweighed by the scheme's benefits. The development was also expected to result in localised low residual landscape harm to the Area of High Landscape Value.

The report pack recommended that the application be approved, subject to conditions and a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This agreement would secure a financial contribution towards the Council's costs of monitoring compliance with a Habitats Management and Monitoring Plan.

The report pack detailed extensive consultation responses, including from Historic England, the Highway Authority, and the Drainage & Coastal Protection team. It also outlined the planning policies considered relevant, including the County Durham Plan (CDP) and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The report pack noted that no formal representations had been received from the public.

The applicant, Mr Steven Spry, provided background information on the restoration of Hamsterley Hall and the circumstances leading to the landslip, highlighting the safety concerns associated with the current access, including the inability of emergency services to use the route. The applicant stated that the proposed solution balanced sensitive issues and represented the best possible solution for re-establishing a permanent route.

The assessment within the report pack considered various planning aspects, including heritage, landscape, ecology, highways, residential amenity, footpaths, and drainage. It concluded that the identified harms to heritage and landscape assets were outweighed by the public benefits of the proposal, such as facilitating the viable long-term use of the Hall as a heritage asset and restoring public access. The report pack also addressed the Public Sector Equality Duty, concluding that appropriate measures were in place to ensure no adverse impacts arose.

The report pack recommended approval of the application, subject to the completion of a legal agreement and a series of conditions relating to time limits, approved plans, ecology, habitat management, and monitoring.