News Beat
Fresh plans lodged for 138 new homes at Yarm Riding Centre
Prestige Homes wants to build a “high quality and inherently sustainable” estate on nine hectares of land at Yarm Riding Centre, next to Mount Leven Farm.
The developer said it wants the estate to have a mix of two, three, four, and five-bedroom homes, with both bungalows and two-storey properties across the site.
The land, which is currently home to bed and breakfast The Stables at The Vale, has been subject to various planning applications in recent years.
This includes the demolition of the site’s existing stable and the erection of five detached homes in 2017, but this was refused and turned down on appeal in 2019.
Then came a fresh bid for 60 homes at Yarm Riding Centre in 2020, but efforts by applicant David Anderson triggered outrage from Levendale residents and the development was refused and then later dismissed following an appeal.
Prestige Homes said it has reviewed the outcomes of previous planning applications for the site, refining its own proposal to create a “more coherent and sensitively designed scheme that aligns with the site’s setting and the wider residential context”.
Design plans for the estate show how there would be vast green open space if approved, allowing for long-distance views across the Leven Valley towards Round Hill in Ingleby Barwick.
It would feature a wildflower grassland and several water drainage basins, and existing trees along the south-eastern boundary would be retained.
There are also plans for an informal footpath connection from the estate to the proposed Mount Leven Country Park.
As reported, a plan for a retirement village with 332 homes, a 68-bed nursing home and other facilities across seven villages at Mount Leven Farm was approved in 2016, but only a roundabout has ever delivered.
Miller Homes has not yet submitted an application for these proposals, which were first announced in August and included a string of bungalows, a farm shop, care home, country park, padel courts and a bus loop near Leven Bank.
The news of the bid from Prestige Homes comes at a contentious time for new housing in Yarm, with several proposals in 2025 garnering complaints from nearby residents.
They argue the area is already “bursting at the seams”, with a Save Yarm campaign to stop all new developments being launched earlier in the year.
There are now around 2,000 homes currently proposed for Yarm across several new-build estates, decisions on which will likely be made in the new year.
Read more on the Yarm homes story in 2025 here: New homes saga continues as area faces bids for 2,000 more houses in 2026
This includes two estates on Green Lane, one in Aislaby, one at Mount Leven Farm, and another opposite the Fox Covert pub in High Leven, Ingleby Barwick.
Resident concerns have echoed across all developments and include fears over impact on infrastructure, roads, and traffic.
Prestige Homes said its plan will provide a “safe and efficient connection to the existing highway network” and will improve access to the land.
It said it will offer a “varied and balanced” housing offer “that meets a range of local needs”.
It said: “We also consider that the proposed development will make a significant and important contribution to the local housing needs in a desirable location in Yarm, in full accordance with local and national planning policy.”
