Labour councillors are backing residents fighting a controversial town centre pitch battle.
Cllr Julie Scurfield is leading the opposition to a new all-weather football field at Park View School, in the heart of Chester-le-Street.
Neighbours of the school fear the proposed pitch, fencing and lighting will significantly increase the number of people using the site, throughout the day and into the evening – increasing noise, traffic and nuisance parking.
Cllr Scurfield, who won her seat on Durham County Council in a May by-election, has taken up the cause for residents, who have even gone so far as to commission their own impact assessment of the scheme, which has been submitted by Park View School.
“The estate around the school is made up of narrow roads, which run into single lanes when cars are parked outside houses,” said Cllr Scurfield. “Any traffic accessing the site will create chaos for people and bring misery to this tranquil neighbourhood.
“I must stress, we are not anti-development or anti-football, but this site just isn’t for this application – the applicants state there’s enough parking onsite, but this is absolutely refuted by residents and the independent experts they have commissioned to assess the potential impact of these proposed facilities.”
The application, which was first submitted last December, is for a proposed artificial grass pitch (AGP) with high perimeter mesh fencing, lighting columns, hard standing areas, and timber acoustic fencing.
It has also been opposed by local MP, Kevan Jones, who said: “Residents are rightly angry at the lack of engagement from Park View School and are understandably concerned that an artificial pitch would result in significant additional transport and parking problems for the local community.
“The road network cannot support the additional traffic and noise that this would bring into a residential area. Along with residents and Cllr Julie Scurfield, I have objected to the planning application and hope that common sense prevails.”
Planning authority, Durham County Council, has received hundreds of objections about the scheme, most of which raise significant concerns about the residential road network not being able to cope with an upsurge in constant traffic to and from the school.
County Durham Labour Leader, Cllr Carl Marshall, said:
“This is all a real mess for so many reasons, but most of all the misery and disruption it will cause for people who have lived peacefully in this area for years.
“Cllr Scurfield provides a powerful and passionate voice for these residents and I stand with her in opposition of these controversial proposals. There is undoubtedly a need for more sporting facilities in our county, but there are so many areas and spaces far more suitable to house them than here, in the centre of a quiet town centre residential area.”