Bellway seeks a comeback for Easington Lane estate

The housebuilder has applied to bring a residential site in the village south of Sunderland back into use, more than 20 years after a housing estate there was demolished.

Bellway has submitted plans to Sunderland City Council to build 135 homes on land South of Murton Lane, where the Forest Estate stood until the early 2000s.

Bellway, which last week posted its half-year results, hopes to build two, three and four-bedroom houses on the land, which spans almost 12 acres.

Miles Crossley, land director for Bellway North East, said: “Our plans demonstrate how a previously developed site can help to provide the homes that the growing community in Easington Lane requires.

“The village has increased in popularity due to its strong links to the A19 and wider road network, good rail links nearby at Seaham, and its proximity to the coast.

“Bellway is proposing to build high-quality housing that meets the needs of the people who live in Easington Lane, and those who hope to buy a home there in the future.

“A great deal of attention has been paid to landscaping and planting. A green space has been allocated in the centre of the site as a meeting place and somewhere wildlife and ecology can thrive.”

Bellway plans to build a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses.

The development would be accessed from a roundabout at Murton Lane, and from Easington Lane High Street. A previous application for residential development on the land was approved in 2019 but never delivered.

Crossley added: “Bellway has a strong heritage in the North East, with a track record of providing attractive, sustainable developments.

“In Easington Lane, there is an opportunity to transform a brownfield site into a thriving new neighbourhood.” A statutory consultation period is now under way.