Hopes that a road closure to lay drainage from the Pennine Meadows social housing development on the former Bellingham Mart site could be avoided have been dashed.

Detailed investigations by engineers have revealed that closure of the main road from Bellingham to Otterburn will still be necessary to allow the work to proceed.

But instead of the originally proposed six week closure, the revised plans mean the road could only be closed for less than a week.

In a statement to Bellingham Parish Council, assistant director of development delivery at developer Karbon Homes Zoey Hawthorne said: “Karbon and Esh Construction have been on site exploring alternative options for the two elements of the drainage connection works needed for the site.

The first element was for the foul water drainage connection and our investigations have found that there is an alternative option for this.

"Rather than having to run the drainage route down the road, we can instead go straight across it, following the same line as the second element, which is the storm water drainage.

"We have drawn up plans for this alternative approach and we’re working with our partners to obtain approval. There will be reduced activity on site while we seek the necessary approvals.”

But she added that the only way to install the drainage was via an open cut excavation across the road. 

She went on: “This means a road closure is still necessary for us to carry out the work, but the length of the section of road we will need to close has been significantly reduced and we will now only need the closure in place for a maximum of one week, instead of the initial six weeks that was proposed.

"We have explored the possibility of a half closure, with a traffic light system to manage traffic. However, the safety of both road users and pedestrians is our top priority and due to the depth of the drainage needed, at four metres deep, this would pose too great a safety risk.

"We are working with Northumberland County Council to confirm when this work can take place.”

Ms Hawthorne also revealed Karbon would begin marketing the shared ownership and rent to buy homes 24 weeks before the sites completion date, and the affordable rented homes would be listed on Northumberland Homefinder approximately 10 weeks before.

She went on: “Providing affordable homes in rural communities like Bellingham is something we’re passionate about, and this approach will ensure that priority is given to people who are strongly connected to Bellingham and surrounding parishes.

"We’re committed to keeping the parish council and the wider Bellingham community updated as work progresses with the site, and if there are any changes made to plans or the timeline of the work that will impact the local community, we will ensure everyone is kept informed.”