Darras Hall
| Darras Hall | |
| Northumberland | |
|---|---|
 Ponteland Park | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ148711 |
| Location: | 55°2’10"N, 1°45’47"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Newcastle Upon Tyne |
| Postcode: | NE20 |
| Dialling code: | 01661 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Northumberland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hexham |
Darras Hall is an upland village formed of a residential estate attached to Ponteland in Northumberland, occupying an outer part of the village and centred 7½ miles northwest of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Darras Hall is separated by a green buffer from Newcastle International Airport, which lies a mle and a half to the east. It is reckoned one of the most affluent estates in the county.
Nearby traditional villages are Heddon-on-the-Wall, Throckley, Westerhope, Gosforth and Hazlerigg. In the village, shopping facilities are at high-end Broadway Shopping Centre with a further array of retail in Newcastle upon Tyne, accessed on the A696 or by way of the airport, which has an express railway station or directly to the city centre.
People
The village has very expensive housing stock, and some former professional footballers live on the estate.
Between 2001 and 2013, a vast amount of building all over Darras Hall rendered it largely unrecognisable from its former appearance. In times gone by, Darras Hall was replete with only bungalows set in large sprawling and expansive grounds, many of which remain. The large plots are being used to produce vast mansions, further adding to the exclusivity of Darras Hall.
Many of the gardens in Darras Hall still have evidence of being part of a grand house. A cursory glance of most gardens will highlight the presence of various apple trees and plum trees, remnants of the old orchards that once sprawled the countryside.[1] red squirrels, prevalent across the county, make use of and live in trees in gardens of the estate.
The exclusivity of Darras Hall is, in part, regulated by the existence of the Darras Hall Committee.[2] The committee are responsible for disputes among residents and also ensure that all houses are kept in good order, particularly as regard to compliance with minimum plot size, by occupants and third parties. A trust deed and byelaws affect much of the land, the latter explaining that in 1910, a group of landowners and businessmen created the concept of a residential estate to allow people to live in a more rural surrounding rather than in long streets of terraced houses and flats and that it is important to ensure the overall maintenance of the rural ambience. They are a separate regime to planning, which has its policies.[3]
The 2011 census reveals that the population has seen an increase since 2001 and generally more families.
References
- ↑ Ponteland Online
- ↑ Darras Hall Residential Committee.
- ↑ Trust deed could cause problems for Darras Hall housing development plans by Paul Tully, The Journal, 20 April 2011