Blind woman says protect woods from garden village
BBCA visually-impaired woman has called on a council to protect land set to be turned into a housing development.
Adele Hawkins-Waterfall, whose disability means she can only see 3m (10ft) in front of her, regularly visits Skerningham woods in Darlington to walk her dogs.
She told Darlington Borough Council she found it difficult to access green spaces and asked councillors not to take the "beautiful area" away, with the Skerningham Garden Village development due to be built to the north of the town.
The council's deputy leader, Labour's Chris McEwan, acknowledged the campaigner's concerns but said the authority was working with a Local Plan adopted by the previous Conservative administration.
Hawkins-Waterfall, who is part of the Skerningham Woodland Action Group (Swag), said green spaces in Darlington were "slowly disappearing" and she found it difficult to travel outside of the town.
"With the number of cars on our roads, I find it increasingly difficult to cross the road safely," she said.
"I like being in nature because I can listen to the birds and see all the different types of trees."
'Sustainable community'
The Skerningham Garden Village development will see up to 4,500 homes built on 487 hectares (1,200 acres) of land to the north of Darlington.
Housing developer Skerningham Estates said the project would create a "liveable and sustainable community, designed around prioritising residents' health, well-being and overall quality of life".
Swag has repeatedly called on the council to protect the area while Labour previously labelled the housing plan as "not fit for purpose" and pledged to "explore reducing the scale of Skerningham", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Conservative leader Jonathan Dulston admitted his party suffered heavy losses at the 2023 local elections because of its stance on Skerningham and the Local Plan, but claimed Labour had "abandoned" its manifesto commitment to review the large-scale project.
McEwan previously voted against the Local Plan, which included pledges for the garden village, but said he believed in the "need for additional housing".
"I have family who live in rented accommodation with mould on the walls," he said.
"It's right that we live with the housing challenges in this town, but we need to do it sensitively and be very mindful of the environmental impact."
