RESIDENTS fearing traffic chaos if a housing scheme gets the go-ahead on a derelict school site in Northumberland have won a temporary victory.

Developers are hoping to turn the grounds of the now disused Cragside First School in Cramlington into 55 houses.

But people living in the area have raised serious concerns about the proposal by Taylor Wimpey and say it will cause problems in a street which has already been identified by the council as a problem area.

Now they are hoping councillors will understand their worries after the panel moved to defer the application in order to conduct a site visit following a meeting of the south east area planning committee of Northumberland County Council.

Helen Charlton, whose house in Cateran Way is adjacent to the proposed access point, said they were pleased with the decision.

She said: “We are relieved it is not going to be based on paperwork and someone is going to have a look.

“We would love to see the site developed, it is derelict land and Cramlington needs houses. But we need something that is sympathetic and sensitive to residents.

“There are other routes that can be looked at, but they have gone for the most profitable and simple option for them.”

The access point for residents of the proposed development would be off Cateran Way, which is subject to a pilot 20mph zone by the council as a traffic calming measure, and residents feel the possibility of a hundred more cars would cause chaos.

Mrs Charlton added: “We are really concerned that if it is approved we will end up with a stand-off between existing residents and new residents. It is just going to cause conflict.”

Rev Steve Wilkinson raised the issue of the difficulties emergency services would have accessing the new development via the proposed access point which already causes problems for delivery vans and buses.

The former school has been left redundant for some years since the town switched to a two-tier education system and developers want to demolish the empty buildings and put up 55 houses.

In an application to the council, Taylor Wimpey says it will use the current access point, which was used by the school, for the proposed homes.

Mrs Charlton and Rev Wilkinson spoke to the planning committee on behalf of dozens of their neighbours.

They said residents do not object to the development of the site but feel the application would cause problems. They also urged councillors to visit the area.

The application had been recommended for approval, but after listening to residents’ concerns Coun Wayne Daley, for Cramlington North, made a motion for the decision to be deferred until a site visit had been carried out by the panel.

The panel voted to defer the application until a visit on September 13 and a number of councillors raised concerns over the application.

Coun Tom Brechany said he was unhappy with the access point.

“I do not think it is wide enough for a 55-house development and vision will be very restricted,” said Coun Brechany.

Speaking after the meeting John Driver, land and planning director for Taylor Wimpey, said: “We are disappointed. We will now await the site visit on September 13 and see what members have to say.”

Other routes can be looked at, but they have gone for the most profitable option