Plan for hundreds of homes pulled after backlash
Cameron Hall Developments/Jomast DevelopmentsA plan for up to 700 homes has been withdrawn after objectors vowed to protect their "environmental Mona Lisa".
Cameron Hall and Jomast Developments proposed the scheme, which also included a community centre and medical facilities, at Wynyard, on Teesside, in February 2023.
When the proposal was lodged, a spokesperson for the firms said it was their intention to develop the area "in a considerate and measured way".
However, it has drawn more than 730 objections on Stockton Council's planning portal, with no comments in support.
A letter from the council's planning services manager Simon Grundy has been uploaded on the portal noting the applicants' request to withdraw the plans.
As well as likening the area's environmental importance to Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting, objectors described the scheme as a "creeping urban sprawl" which they said would turn a tranquil village into a "massive brick jungle" and cause traffic chaos.
One said: "Wynyard, as we were sold, and I am sure in the original developers' visions, is becoming a sprawling collection of properties with no soul or character.
"People have been sold down the river."
Another commented: "The proposed changes will finally demolish what woodland the village has remaining which will be utterly devastating for the vast array of wildlife living there."
Cameron Hall Developments/Jomast DevelopmentsMore than 200 residents attended a public meeting where one speaker said "we have the right to say no" to the "shoddy" plan.
Another spoke of crowdfunding for a potential legal fight, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
Meanwhile, Historic England recommended taking a golf course extension out of the application, with the Woodland Trust calling for the planning decision to be deferred until it had been determined whether adjacent trees had ancient woodland status.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen also voiced concerns, branding the scheme "ridiculous" and saying it should be refused as it was "supported by less than minimal information".
The developers had said they would use "a low-density approach with beautiful landscaping and green space in keeping with the rest of the estate".
