Good news and bad news: Barratt Homes are proposing to develop housing on the former Keiller’s site fronting Mains Loan and Clepington Road that has lain empty for over 20 years. It will be good to see housing on this ‘brownfield site’ close to existing services and amenities. Unfortunately, in our view, Barratt are trying to get too many homes on the site. There is no meaningful communal open space and some of the garden sizes are very small. Given there maybe 600 people living here this needs to be addressed. The Trust has also criticised the design of the flats fronting Clepington Road which we feel fails to fully reflect the tenement style to the west.
