Planning Row Brewing? Nine Acres Housing Scheme Jumps from “Around 30” to 51 Homes

Affordable Homes Cut to 6% as 51-Property Scheme Lodged for Hart Village

Hart Village Housing Plan Escalates: 51 Homes Proposed on Site Earmarked for Around Thirty...

4th Feb 2026

Plans for a further 51 New Homes on the Outskirts of Hartlepool are set to be reviewed by Council Planning Officials, far higher than whats reported to be the original number of homes propose .

A detailed planning application has now been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council for 51 new homes on land known as 'Nine Acres' on the western edge of Hart Village, with the applicant arguing that a higher-than-anticipated number of dwellings is warranted by rising housing requirements and national pressure to “make effective use” of allocated land.

The scheme, prepared by Origin Planning Services on behalf of developer Port Homes, seeks permission to build the homes with associated landscaping, public open space and drainage infrastructure on approximately 2.98 hectares of currently grassed agricultural land enclosed by mature hedgerows and trees. The site sits within defined settlement limits and is identified as a housing allocation in the adopted local plan, with access proposed from Palace Row.

In planning terms, the heart of the argument is reportedly bow not whether housing is acceptable there, but how much. The statement says the councils local plan allocation identifies Nine Acres as a 3.06-hectare site for “approximately 30” dwellings, while the neighbourhood plan refers to a smaller portion of the land with an estimated capacity of about 23 homes. The submitted scheme proposes 51 dwellings across a gross area of 2.87 hectares, with a net developable area of 1.86 hectares, and the applicant frames that as an “efficient and sustainable use” of an allocated site in light of increased housing numbers and government expectations.

The mix is said to be weighted towards larger family homes, with a smaller number of bungalows included. The submitted plans seen by the Teesside & Durham Post show a combination of two-bedroom homes and bungalows, three-bedroom semis, and a larger share of four- and five-bedroom detached properties. The developer also says the layout includes a Sustainable Urban Drainage System and green infrastructure intended to provide play and recreation space while delivering biodiversity net gain and a landscaped transition to open countryside on the northern edge.

One of the more sensitive elements of the scheme is said to be affordable housing. The planning statement acknowledges that local policy seeks an 18 per cent affordable contribution on schemes above the relevant threshold, but the application proposes just three affordable homes being built.

The site has an extensive planning history, where its claimed a 2022 proposal for 48 new homes being built was withdrawn, and an outline application for re-development refused in 1988. In the current submission, the developer’s case is that the allocation in the development plan establishes the principle of housing, and that national and local policy now favours maximising delivery where it can be done with acceptable design, access, drainage and environmental safeguards, leaving the decision on whether the council accepts the applicant’s planning balance, particularly on the jump from the indicative capacities set out in plan documents to 51 new homes as opposed to the previous 30, and on whether the claimed viability constraints justify the reduced affordable housing offer.

If Council Planning Officials agree the scheme meets allocation criteria on green infrastructure, landscaping buffers and connectivity, the applicant argues permission should follow “without delay”, however, in previous applications, objections from the local community towards similar developments has been 'significant', meaning the plans may have to go before a council planning committee later in the year for a final approval.