Yesterday Newcastle City Council’s planning committee approved the Woolsington Hall applications that will see the destruction of one of the last remaining areas of woodland in Newcastle. Despite a strong turnout from objectors and our local MP denouncing the harmful plans in the green belt, few members of the committee grasped the concept of the great harm this will cause, for people and wildlife. Although Save Newcastle Wildlife delivered a strong argument against the proposals, the applicant delivered a speech that won over councillors with promises of a hotel that would 'bring superstars to the region' and 'provide somewhere special to have afternoon tea'. The developers showed little regard for the controversial enabling development – which involves building 72 millionaire homes in mature woodland to supposedly fund the restoration - that will destroy the historic parkland and vital wildlife habitat. Planning officers made outrageous claims that the applications for building on the green belt were not factored into the local strategic planning framework - which sought to minimise encroachment on the green belt - on the basis that the land will still be considered green belt when the trees are bulldozed and the land is littered with lodges and luxury homes. Many of the concerns raised by Save Newcastle Wildlife went unaddressed and both public and press were excluded from discussions surrounding the financial viability – a key component in any enabling argument – before the decision was made. Historic England’s guidance on enabling development states that ‘confidentiality cannot outweigh the need for proper financial information where the financial case is at the heart of the applicant’s submission’, however, it seems that in this case, it has. This means we could see the worst of both worlds in that the woodland will be lost and the homes built, but the hall itself will never be restored. Planners have well and truly had the wool pulled over their eyes. This is a get rich quick scheme with scant regard for public benefit; a grab at the green belt that will obliterate an area crucial to Newcastle’s liveability, and the health and well-being of many. As the development contravenes both local national planning policies, the decision will be passed to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Hopefully he will see this madness for what it really is and call-in the applications. The developer’s may have won the battle but the war’s not over; we will not be disheartened. Spread the word.