Campaigners fighting housing development on South Tyneside claim partial victory in challenge.

Campaigners fighting controversial house building plans in South Tyneside are claiming partial victory after a critical claim made by developers in support of their scheme was successfully challenged.

In its planning application, Story Homes said its 205-property project on protected farmland, off Mill Lane at Whitburn, had the potential to improve the removal of surface water from the site.

The Carlisle-based firm claimed it would do this by diverting rainwater into a surface water sewer which discharges at a coastal exit point nearby.

Its statement was supported by Northumbrian Water but contested by campaigner and environmentalist Steve Lavelle, 67.

Mr Lavelle insisted the developer had provided no evidence the project would improve – or bring ‘betterment’ – to the removal of rainwater.

The retired police inspector even stood next to the field during a downpour to prove by video that no surface water had gathered.

He believes rainwater naturally vanishes from the field, which drops to around 2m below road level, possibly via an underground culvert.

Mr Lavelle challenged Northumbrian Water over its supportive statement, but it initially refused to alter its position.

But after he issued an official complaint, the firm changed its stance and has now conceded its statement could have been more precisely qualified.

It has now gone so far as to concede it no longer supports Story Homes’ ‘betterment’ claim and that it will resubmit its planning consultation response.

Whitburn resident Mr Lavelle said the water company was right to recognise it had erred but insisted it should have been more cautious in following Story Homes’ position.

He added: “Story Homes has made an erroneous statement regarding ‘betterment’ around removing surface water from this site.

“There is no surface water to remove, it does not gather there, and you can’t get any better than having none in the first place.

“Story Homes and Northumbrian Water met to discuss this before Story submitted its planning application, and they agreed what would be stated.

“My understanding is that Story Homes gave Northumbrian Water assurances that were not honoured in its application.

“Northumbrian Water should not just have gone with the pre-application strategy, it should have checked what was in the final application.

“I would say that Story Homes has been somewhat disingenuous around ‘betterment’ in its application.”

Northumbrian Water said its wording was due to Story Homes’ report not accurately reflecting what it had understood from their earlier discussions.

A spokesperson added: “We provided a response to South Tyneside Council on the Story Homes proposal, based on our understanding from early discussions.

“It was understood that the developer would divert existing highway drainage from a section of Mill Lane to improve the network.

“This was then flagged to us, as the submitted plans didn’t explicitly include this wording.

“Until the wording is changed to specifically refer to the highway drainage action, we’ve amended our response.

“We’re sorry for any confusion caused and have shared this information with Storey Homes and South Tyneside Council.”

In a statement, Story Homes said: “We continue to engage with South Tyneside Council and the relevant consultees, including Northumbrian Water, as part of the ongoing planning application process.”