Defeated developer goes back to drawing board

May 7 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

DEVELOPER Banks Group walked away from its appeal against Durham City Council refusing permission for its £150m Mount Oswald Golf Course scheme – but promised to be back.

Banks’ plans for a mixed residential and office development on the site were promoted as having the potential to create 4,000 jobs in a business and research community with four distinct ‘quarters’ within a parkland setting.

But now, having agreed an extension to its existing deal with landowners and looked at consultation feedback, Banks has decided to withdraw its appeal against the city council’s decision.

The company intends submitting a new planning application later in the year.

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at Banks Developments (pictured), says: “The proposals we put forward for the Mount Oswald site are extremely strong, but now we have more time to take a fresh look at the development options available.

“We have therefore decided to withdraw our appeal against the rejection of the initial scheme to allow us to develop amended proposals which will take full account of the opinions expressed by a wide range of consultees.

“The revised plans that we put forward for what remains a sound development site will once again be designed to benefit both the local area and wider region economically, socially and environmentally.”

Nigel Galvin, director of Mount Oswald Golf Course, adds: “The course and venue remain fully open to members, visitors and guests alike while discussions continue around this proposal, and we are committed to providing high quality on and off-course facilities for the foreseeable future.”

As part of its plans for Mount Oswald, Banks planned to plant 100,000 trees and shrubs within the site to soften and define the development’s boundaries, and there were also plans for a number of water features to help meet some of the scheme’s energy requirements.

The Mount Oswald site has been allocated for development in the Durham City Local Plan for many years.

The ‘quarters’ were to be an Innovation Quarter, where new knowledge-based businesses would be located in around 750,000sqft of space; a Community Quarter, with 30 houses serving these businesses by enabling recruitment and retention of senior executives; a Parkland Quarter, with a new public park for Durham, linked to surrounding areas and a ‘Manor House Quarter’, in which the listed Mount Oswald Manor would be restored.