Integra 61 expansion ‘catastrophic’ for County Hett family home

A family has said their home could face “catastrophic” effects if the proposed expansion of an industrial site goes ahead.

In October, developer Citrus announced plans for the next phase of the £250m Integra 61 scheme near Durham, which could create thousands of jobs.

But Peter and Catherine Hodgson said the site would be “metres away” from their home, Hett Mill Cottage, between the villages of Hett and Bowburn, and has left them concerned over flood risks and traffic.

Citrus said it was aware of their concerns and would try to arrange a meeting between their engineer and the residents.

Mr and Mrs Hodgson, who have lived at the cottage for nearly 19 years, said the home was “idyllic” and like “a little oasis”.

The couple, who have three children, said they had hoped to pass it on to the next generation, but the development plans threw that into doubt.

“Just round the corner we’re going to be walking into an industrial estate, with 10 years’ worth of building,” Mr Hodgson said.

Citrus regional director James Taylor said the proposed development would be “set away” from the cottage, and although in certain views it would be apparent, “this won’t be a close immediate relationship to the property”.

“The development land has been safeguarded for commercial [or] industrial development for many years and has always been foreseen as coming forward at an appropriate point in time,” Mr Taylor said.

Mrs Hodgson said water from the site would feed into Tursdale Beck, which runs past the property, leaving the family worried over pollution and flooding risks.

There are also concerns over the area being used as a “rat run” and increasing traffic.

“It is going to have a catastrophic effect on us,” she said.

“At present, we don’t know what we’re going to do, because we are so devastated, we can’t even think straight,” Mrs Hodgson added.

“If we decide to sell, who’d want to buy it? Who would want to live here at the end of the day?”

Mr Hodgson said they had “life back” in the house after their son moved in with his partner and their granddaughter, but the young family was now in a “catch-22”.

“They don’t know what to do, because we don’t know what we’re going to do,” the 60-year-old said.

“We literally don’t know the answer.”

Mr Taylor said the developer was aware of Mr and Mrs Hodgson’s concerns over flooding and had “discussed this with them as the property is located within a designated flood zone”.

He said the firm would seek to arrange a meeting between the family and their engineer to discuss the measures in place to “control surface water run-off at greenfield rates, therefore not worsening the water runoff into the Beck”.