We are not having it. That’s how we all felt as we sat in the Tees Valley Airport café. Our small band of campaigners, representing thousands of opponents to the destruction of Darlington’s loveliest countryside, were fed up. Previously in this series we described our hour-long meeting at the airport with Jonathan Spruce,Director of Infrastructure at the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) about plans for the Darlington Northern Link Road (DNLR). Straight after, talking it through in the Landside Café, we were unanimous: “Thanks, Jonathan. But no thanks.”
What just happened?
We immediately agreed that our ad hoc alliance of community and environmental groups would band together to form “ROOTS” – Residents Opposing Overdevelopment & Traffic Schemes. We would fight the DNLR, or at least some aspects of it. But we’d also campaign against the DLNR’s sidekick, Skerningham Garden Village.
Housekeeping
Some of our new group were also members of SWAG (Skerningham Woodland Action Group), an organisation which has fought the link road and the garden village for many years. Their organisational skills proved invaluable and within no time a new WhatsApp group, a Facebook page and an email address: roots.darlington@gmail.com had been created
What are we doing here?
In 2017, some of us had fought on different sides in the previous debate about a route for the DNLR. Some villagers from places like Barmpton and Brafferton had opposed “Route A”, the direct route from the A66 at Little Burdon to Junction 59 of the A1(M) near Newton Aycliffe. It would have swept close to their villages. But SWAG and similar groups had opposed “Route B”, which would have followed the floodplain of the River Skerne, and carved through the cherished Skerningham Woods
We’ve seen this film before
Now, nine years later, that DLNR – a bypass to relieve Darlington town centre from heavy, cross-regional traffic – had united them. Jonathan Spruce had said that his job was to get the long-touted DNLR built. ROOTS don’t accept this as a foregone conclusion; there’s a wider debate to be had and ROOTS will compile a report on a set of alternatives to the DNLR. This includes a route that avoids Darlington altogether – the A19/A689 corridor – which can be seen on the map below.
Second Tees crossing
The main disadvantage of the A19/A689 corridor is rush-hour congestion on the A19 in Teesside. In May 2020, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen pledged £24million for a Second Tees Crossing parallel to the Tees Viaduct. No money was actually spent. Six years on, and the mayor needs to put his money where his mouth is, say ROOTS; Build the Second Tees Crossing, and consider abandoning the DNLR project in its entirety.
Is the Tees Valley Mayor exaggerating? Surely not?
The campaigners also question whether the DNLR would have much impact. We know local roads are busy. But how much of this is through-traffic – the only traffic that would be alleviated by a DNLR. And, as reported by the Tees Valley Monitor (TVM), the TVCA’s consultant, Jacobs, has not measured this.
The abandoned airport
TVM notes that the TVCA often mentions freight journeys generated by Teesside Freeport, Teesworks and Teesside Airport. But business is not thriving for any of them and they hardly generate much cross-regional traffic. The airport, for example, handles 230 tonnes of freight per month. This would not fill six 44-tonne lorries. Assuming, generously, that half would use the DNLR route, does less than one lorry a week help to justify the DNLR?.
It’s better by rail
Astonishingly, switching freight from road to rail has not been considered in any DNLR consultation. The UK is, of course, working towards Net Zero. And a viable rail route is staring us in the face: the little-used freight-only line between Stockton and Ferryhill. The map below shows this line, and how it could be adapted to reduce lorry traffic on the A66/A1150/A167/A1(M) corridor.
A new intermodal (road/rail) terminal
The map includes the disused Leamside Line. Part of this is proposed for reopening by North East Regional Mayor Kim McGuinness. In August, I wrote about plans to open part of that route for use by the Tyne & Wear Metro. It would be worthwhile for NEMSA and the TVCA to get together to open the remainder of the line as a combined passenger and rail route. The above map shows how a new road/rail site at Tursdale Business Park could then be located next to a significant rail junction. And it’s only a five-minute drive from Junction 61 of the A1(M). The report can be obtained by emailing ROOTS at roots.darlington@gmail.com.
Let me show you the way to go
Even accepting the concept of a DNLR, there’s a robust discussion to be had about the proposed route. The 2026 consultation process has revived some of the contentious issues that pitted residents against each other in 2017. In Part 3 of this article we talked about the option to remove Route 1 from the consultation. This route, you may recall, is very similar to 2017’s favoured Route A.
Do Minimum
Now, though, the topsy-turvy TVCA seems minded to build the 2026 “Do Minimum” option, which more closely resembles 2017’s “Route B”. Our reporting has revealed that Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has publicly put his thumb on the scales, effectively in favour of the “Do Minimum” option at least twice. But we soon discovered that there’d been an alternative plan for the whole scheme, dating back to the first DNLR consultation in 2017.
What’s the real plan?
What have the property developers behind Skerningham Garden Village and the DNLR really got in mind for the Skerne Valley? Well, it’s a lot more ambitious than most people realise. How do we know this? Because they’ve told us themselves. In their original 2018 “Skerningham Garden Community” bid to the Government revealed a plan to eventually build a SECOND garden village north of the River Skerne. Here’s an excerpt from their proposal.
Where would the second garden village be located?
Well, to get our bearings, let’s remind ourselves of where the first garden village is planned. This is an excerpt from Skerningham Estates’ Masterplan, which has now been adopted into Darlington Council’s Local Plan.
Northern boundary
As you can see from the above map, the River Skerne forms the northern boundary of the proposed Skerningham Garden Village. This is apart from a small section towards the right of the map, where the river bends to the south. Skerningham Estates’ plans for a second garden village would extend towards the top of the map, and beyond it. North East Bylines has spoken to someone with knowledge of the proposal, which would centre on that old 2017 concept of the DNLR. That is, a full bypass of Darlington, from the A66 at Little Burdon to Junction 59 of the A1(M).
Think big
The new garden village would contain between 10,000 and 12,000 homes in an area known as “Ketton Country”. However, energy giant RWE is planning a massive solar farm in Ketton Country, so any housing plans would need to be adjusted accordingly. But, even accepting the lower estimate of 10,000 new homes, ROOTS has mapped the enormous scope of the possible second garden village, as can be seen below.
Population bust
Property developers such as Skerningham Estates apply for housing based on an expected increase in the population of Darlington. But, due to radical changes in immigration policy over the past three years, these increases are no longer expected to happen. Only two years ago, for example, the Office for National Statistics predicted that the UK population would reach 72.2mn by 2034. But according to the latest data, it’s now expected to reach only 71mn by that date. The population of the UK is expected to peak in 2054, then start declining. Darlington needs to urgently scale back its housing expectations, and the property developers will too.
Stop Press
Following updates to the National Planning Policy Framework on 29 September 2026, local planning authorities are now required to identify and annually update a supply of specific, deliverable housing sites. This supply must be sufficient to meet a minimum five-year housing requirement, measured against the local development plan or identified housing needs. The baseline for these sites is set at 0.8% of the area’s existing housing stock. For Darlington, these changes signal a clear mandate to significantly accelerate residential development.
To be continued
In Part Five of this series of articles, we’ll discuss how the DNLR proposal will affect a major water pipeline and a biodiversity habitat. We’ll talk more about alternatives to the building of this road. And we’ll ask: Is the public consultation for the DNLR being rigged?
Further reading
29 September 2026
Darlington Northern Link Road: a grassroots campaign springs into life (Part One)
2 October 2026
Darlington’s Skerningham Garden Village controversy bursts back into life
3 October 2026
Darlington Northern Link Road: A campaign takes ROOT (Part Two: Question Time at Teesside Airport)
6 October 2026
Darlington Northern Link Road: A campaign takes ROOT (Part Three: The Road to Nowhere)
Additional research by ROOTS (Residents Opposing Overdevelopment & Traffic Schemes)
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