Birney Hill is back on the table: what Northumberland’s new land map means for Ponteland

The Darras Index has looked at every site identified for potential future housing development on Northumberland’s new land availability map, including the return of Birney Hill Farm, the green belt site Ponteland fought to protect over a decade ago. We’re bringing residents, councillors and planning experts together so the community is ready for what comes next.

On Monday, The Darras Index broke the news to Ponteland residents that Northumberland County Council had published its Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA).

The map identifies over 20, mainly greenfield, sites around Ponteland and Medburn with land totalling 260 hectares as “potentially developable”, with room for up to around 3,000 new homes.

The County Council has stressed that there is far more land put forward for consideration in the HELAA than will be required, therefore, only a small proportion of the sites identified will be put forward for consultation in the new Local Plan, but given the history we'd like to get a jumpstart on this decision making process.

The authority has also acknowledged that it has been set “extremely challenging housebuilding targets” for the county, so it has a difficult balancing act in the next few years.

Among the sites on the HELAA map is Birney Hill Farm. More than ten years after the Secretary of State threw out plans to build there, the site is back on the table, and it’s one of the largest on the map.

Since Monday, we’ve gone further. No planning permission is in place, and that’s exactly why we’re acting now: this early stage is when communities have the most influence.

What The Darras Index is doing

We’ve mapped every site. We’ve gone through the council’s own data site by site, so residents can see exactly what’s proposed, where, and on what scale. The full breakdown will be launched on our website: Darrasindex.co.uk

We’re bringing in experienced local voices. We’ve contacted local councillors and community figures with long experience of planning in Ponteland and of the previous Local Plan. We’ll publish their views and guidance as soon as we have them.

We’re reconnecting the community. Residents campaigned hard during the last Local Plan, and much of that knowledge is still here. We want to bring those people back together, alongside anyone new who cares about Ponteland’s future.

We’ll follow every stage through to 2029. We’ll explain each step in plain English, flag every consultation as it opens, and make sure residents know how and when to make their views count.

We’ll keep you updated every month. Our free monthly newsletter will track every stage of the Local Plan, alongside the community news, local issues and events that matter across Ponteland and Darras Hall. Just scroll to the bottom of our homepage darrasindex.co.uk and sign-up

Birney Hill: the fight Ponteland thought it had won

Birney Hill Farm sits on the southern edge of Darras Hall. At 85 hectares, it’s one of the largest sites in the Ponteland area to appear in the HELAA.

The council lists it as two separate parcels. The first, put forward for 160 homes and rated amber, appears on the main map. The second, for a further 200 homes, only shows up when you click through the site highlights. Together, that’s 360 homes.

For many residents, the name will bring back memories.

In 2013, developer Lugano applied to build 280 homes on the green belt land at Birney Hill Farm, along with offices, shops and community facilities. Ponteland’s response was overwhelming: residents submitted 4,310 letters of objection. Newcastle International Airport, the Environment Agency and several county council departments also objected, and the Ponteland Greenbelt Group was among those leading the protest.

Northumberland County Council refused the application. Lugano appealed, and after a public inquiry the decision went to the Secretary of State, Greg Clark. In July 2015 he rejected the appeal, agreeing with the inspector that the harm clearly outweighed the benefits. He cited the impact on the landscape and on the setting of the listed Birney Hall, poor access to services, poor connections with Darras Hall, and aircraft noise.

The then Hexham MP, Guy Opperman, who led the campaign against the scheme, called the decision “a victory for local democracy”. Peter Jackson, then Conservative group leader on the county council, warned at the time that the council’s lack of a Local Plan “leaves Northumberland’s green belt at real risk”.

A decade on, Birney Hill is back on the map, and the numbers have grown from 280 homes to 360. It returns at a time when government housing targets for Northumberland are higher than ever.

The scale of potential development

The 20-plus amber sites cover almost 260 hectares, around half of which is deemed to be developable, mostly farmland on the edges of Ponteland, and could accommodate just over 3,000 new homes. Ponteland has roughly 5,000 households today and 12.5k residents. If every amber site were built on, the town would grow by almost half – but the County Council has stressed only a small proportion of the sites identified would be needed for housing.

Where the sites are

East: Clickemin Farm, Prestwick Road and Rotary Way
This area faces the heaviest pressure in terms of housing numbers, with up to around 1,230 homes across nine sites. Four parcels at Clickemin Farm have been put forward for 725 homes between them, including 400 on the western parcel alone. Two sites north of Rotary Way add a further 265. The county council’s own Old Ponteland High School site is also listed, with an estimated capacity of about 160 homes. Smaller sites at Coruisk and east of Ridgely Drive complete the cluster.

North: North Road and the A696
The single largest proposal by housing numbers is at West Farm, where 450 homes have been put forward on 48 hectares. Four nearby sites, off North Road, west of North Grange, and south of Ashcroft next to the former Police HQ, account for roughly 460 more. In total, the northern side of Ponteland could take around 900 homes.

South: Birney Hill, Callerton Lane and High Callerton
As well as the 360 homes across the two Birney Hill Farm parcels, two sites west of Callerton Lane have been put forward for 375 homes. Together, the southern edge of Ponteland could see around 735 new homes on more than 105 hectares.

West: Medburn
Three sites around Medburn could take up to about 210 homes. The largest, Land at Medburn A, is put forward for 152.

What amber does and doesn’t mean

The HELAA is not a planning application, and it isn’t a decision. The County Council has been clear that it doesn’t allocate land or grant planning permission, and that it identifies far more land than Northumberland will need.

Amber still matters. It means the council sees constraints on the site that could reasonably be overcome, so development isn’t ruled out. The owners of 13 of the sites have actively promoted them within the last two years, so there’s clear intent behind them.

Context matters too. Government housebuilding targets for Northumberland have risen sharply. The current Local Plan requires 885 new homes a year across the county, and the latest national calculation puts the figure at around 1,656, close to double. That pressure has to go somewhere.

Sites that make it through this process can become allocations in the new Local Plan. Birney Hill shows why that matters. In 2015, Ponteland won because the site was green belt, unallocated and opposed on clear planning grounds. If land is allocated in a new Local Plan, that protection becomes much harder to rely on.

Put simply, this is when communities have the most influence, years before any diggers arrive.

What happens next?

The County Council’s timetable sets out the key dates:

• 28 April to 8 June 2027: public consultation on the proposed content of the new Local Plan
• Early 2028: consultation on the proposed plan itself
• September 2028: submission for independent examination
• March 2029: expected adoption

Dates can move. Our monthly newsletter will tell you as soon as they do.

Stay connected with The Darras Index newsletter

The Local Plan process will run for the next three years, and it’s easy to miss a consultation window. It’s only one of the things shaping life in NE20, though. Our free monthly newsletter brings it all together in one place, so you always know what’s happening on your doorstep.

Each month you’ll get:

• Local Plan and HELAA updates: what’s changed, in plain English, with advance notice of every consultation and how to respond
• Community issues: the topics residents are raising, from roads and safety to green spaces and local services, and what’s being done about them
• What’s On: an events calendar covering the month ahead, from community meetings to markets, clubs and family days out
• Community news: stories from local groups, businesses and neighbours across Ponteland, Darras Hall and Medburn
• Ways to get involved: volunteering, campaigns and local groups looking for support

It’s free, it arrives once a month, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

darrasindex.co.uk - scroll to the base of the page and sign up.

How you can get involved

Find your nearest site. Use the breakdown above, then look up the site number in the council’s site factsheets to see the constraints the council has identified. The interactive map is here: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning/planning-policy-and-local-plan/studies-evidence-reports-and-guidance scroll down to Housing and click the link. (It's not the easiest to find).

Register for council updates so you’re notified when consultations open.

Talk to your town and county councillors about the sites that concern you.

Reconnect with the Ponteland Greenbelt group. The group played a leading role in the Birney Hill campaign. If you were part of it, or know whether it’s still active, please get in touch.