DEVELOPMENT OF OLD SCHOOL SITE

Coxhoe Parish Council recently consulted you on a potential land swap to increase parking in Coxhoe. The results are available on our website, along with responses to frequently asked questions. As 59.4% of residents voted in favour of exploring parking provision via a land swap with the developer, Coxhoe Parish Council engaged in negotiations and with the developer, and sought specialist valuers advice in order to make sure that any deal provided best value for you, for potentially disposing of your land asset, next to the Old School site. (See here for full results.)

As a result of their consultations with residents, and with Durham County Council, the developers revised their proposals reducing from 9 x 3 storey town houses and also 8 semi-detached houses to only 9 x 2 and 3 bedroom bungalows for sale, just before our consultation ended. As you agreed in principle to disposal of the land, the Parish Council agreed to proceed to get a valuation of the schemes to see if they presented value for money for you as Council Tax Payers, at that stage.

The specialist valuers advice to the Council was that this would represent a good deal for you.

The Parish Council agreed at a special meeting 31 July that it made sense to proceed with the scheme, even though the revised scheme only offers provision of 20 instead of 30 public parking spaces (which will be owned by the

Parish Council), because the reduction in total amount of housing on the site was a huge improvement, and also because the scheme also offered potential access to the rear of the adjoining Front Street properties who want it.

The developer is intending to lodge a planning application in August, and so you will get another opportunity to express your views.