South Seaham Garden Village

Location: Seaham, County Durham
Client: Tolent and Coolmore
Status: Ongoing

Project Description:

South Seaham Garden Village was granted outline planning at the end of 2018. This was the culmination of several years of pre-application discussions with Durham County Council and key stakeholders including residents from nearby settlements including Seaham, Murton and Hawthorn.

Delivered by Tolent and Home Group, the garden village will provide 1,500 new homes over 10 years and create 960 new jobs, including 500 new construction jobs delivered through the Construction Industry Training Board and the National Skills Academy for Construction, 300 in the centre of the village and another 160 off site. Working with Professor Roy Sandbach and the National Innovation Centre for Ageing at Newcastle University and Northumbria University the proposals for the Garden Village have been carefully designed to create what will be a national and international exemplar. The garden village will be truly inclusive and welcoming to all parts of the community; first time buyers and renters, families, empty nesters, and retirees. 50% of the houses will be affordable, that is 750 affordable properties developed and managed by North East based Home Group. The other 750 will be built by private developers. All new homes will be built to an overall design code for the village that will secure high standards of design.

Located close to the A19, Dalton Retail Park and the North Durham Coast the garden village will provide a stunning setting for residents in a highly accessible location. More than half of the garden village will be managed green space, including extensive parkland, a football pitch, a bowling green, play areas and allotments, linked by a network of more than 4.75km of landscape paths and cycleways. At the heart of the garden village will be its centre with shops and café, a primary school with sports facilities, a park and village square, housing for the elderly and a community hub with space for health and well-being, to include a gym. The village centre will also include a new innovation hub for business space. The innovation hub will be used by new and existing businesses, along with the region’s universities to bring the latest research and innovation insight into the development of all aspects of the garden village. It is especially relevant that the new National Innovation Centre for Ageing based in Newcastle University will be able to bring national expertise and insight.