A HOUSING scheme for Aiskew, near Bedale is set to get the go ahead, bringing to 230 the number of new homes which could be built in the area in the next two years.

Developers Cecil Yuill will have to pay a contribution of £560,000 towards community projects as part of the planning approval for the latest housing development for 59 homes on land next to Blind Lane and Bedale road.

Two other schemes, one in Aiskew for 90 houses and another in nearby Leeming Bar for 82 homes have already been approved.

Local councillors say they could be a major boost in offering people working on the nearby industrial estate the chance to live near their jobs.

Many people who currently come to the Leeming Bar estate, working at companies including Richmond Ice Cream, travel from Teesside and Darlington.

District and county Councillor Carl Les said: “We have always been very conscious of the fact that a lot of employment opportunities at Leeming Bar are for people outside the district.

“There is a lot of traffic coming down the A1, so the availability of more housing in the area will mean people could live near their jobs.

“We have always been aware Aiskew was going to be one of the growth areas in Hambleton District. The arrival of more families will be a boost for the area, particularly if we can encourage them to go to Aiskew and Leeming Bar Primary School."

Hambleton District Council's planning committee is being recommended to approve the scheme when it meets in the New Year.

As part of the permission, developers will have to make a contribution of £190,000 towards education, with £163.000 towards a footpath and cycle link around Bedale, £56,000 towards a new scout hut and £151,000 for public open space, sport and recreation.

That would work out at around £9,512 per new dwelling. The scheme, which will be one, two, three and four bedroom homes, mostly two storeys high although some will be two and a half stories high, will also include 18 affordable homes.

The three new estates will all have access off the main A684 road, a new £42m relief road is planned for Bedale which would take pressure off the new developments, although none of the permissions are dependent on the bypass being built.