Step forward for major Northumberland mixed-use scheme

Plans for a large mixed-use development in Northumberland, which includes a trunk road service area, hotel, innovation centre and residential housing, look set to move forward at a planning committee next week.The scheme, on land to the west of Lancaster Park in Morpeth, is subject to outline planning permission.Euro Garages is now seeking approval for reserved matters details in respect to the service area, hotel and innovation centre.The hotel would be sited to the north-eastern area of the site and include 40 bedrooms, alongside a restaurant and bar which would be available for use by both residents and non-residents.A parking area is also proposed with 55 parking spaces including four disabled bays and three EV charging spaces.The services area would comprise a fuel filling station for both cars and HGVs, and an amenity building with food outlets, retail floorspace, seating areas, meeting room space and toilets – alongside 122 parking spaces.Elsewhere, the innovation centre would be made up of seven self-contained units within a two-storey building.A reserved matters statement, submitted with the application, said that Euro Garages sites typically bring a minimum of 50 jobs to the local community, alongside construction jobs.It added that the innovation centre “provides employment facilities in a configuration that can accommodate local businesses who can benefit from the site’s location near the Strategic Road Network.”The application will go before Northumberland Planning Committee at a meeting on 1 November with the recommendation for approval, despite receiving 272 objections from local residents.At the same meeting, a reserved matters application relating to the residential element of the wider scheme will go before the committee.Persimmon Homes is behind the project which comprises 150 residential dwellings in the north of the site.A total of 18 different house types are proposed, including a mix of bungalows and two, three, four and five bed houses.The majority of the buildings will be two-storeys in height, with 45 affordable units.