Plans for Eastgate eco village approved

Sep 30 2009 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

PLANS for a multi-million pound eco-village have been approved. Supporters hope the project – comprising 65 homes, a hotel, spa and a cable car – will revive Eastgate, in Weardale, County Durham, which was left devastated by the closure of the Lafarge cement works in 2002.

The renewable energy village hopes to be the only place in the country to feature all five forms of land-based energy available in the UK – wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal – to provide green and clean power.

A total of 118 letters of support and 112 objections were sent to Durham County Council over the plans, which could create 350 jobs.

Councillors on the planning committee went with recommendations from officers to approve the scheme, saying the proposals would help improve education, skills and job prospects for people in Weardale.

The plans will now be referred to Government Office North East for examination when a decision will be made whether to call in the councillors’ decision or refer it back to the County Council for full approval.

When the Lafarge cement works closed it took with it 147 jobs and left a £7m-a-year hole in the local economy.

The Weardale Task Force, comprising representatives from Durham County Council, Wear Valley District Council, One North East and Lafarge Cement UK, was set up to help the area recover.

It is likely the eco-village, dubbed by critics as eco-Disney, would take at least 10 years to get up and running.