Darras Hall

Darras Hall is an upland housing estate located in the village of Ponteland. It is on the southwestern outskirts of the village, 7.4 miles (11.9 km) northwest of Newcastle upon Tyne.[1] It is generally regarded as the most expensive and exclusive place to live in the North East of England and is home to numerous celebrities, professional footballers and some of the region's most powerful business leaders.

Darras Hall
Typical road in the estate
Ponteland Park
Darras Hall Location within Northumberland
OS grid reference	NZ148711
Civil parish	Ponteland
Unitary authority	Northumberland
Ceremonial county	Northumberland
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
Postcode district	NE20
Dialling code	01661
Police	Northumbria
Fire	Northumberland
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	Hexham

Geography

It is separated by a green buffer from Newcastle International Airport 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the east and is one of the most affluent estates in North East England. It has very expensive housing stock as well as the most expensive road in the North East.[2] Former professional footballers such as Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Kieron Dyer live on the estate along with many former and current players from both Newcastle United and Sunderland.

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 bus to the airport, which has an express railway station or directly to the city centre.

Demography

In recent times a vast amount of building work has been done all over Darras Hall, rendering it largely unrecognisable from its former appearance. In times gone by, Darras Hall was replete with bungalows set in large sprawling and expansive grounds, many of which remain. The large plots are now 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 called Doris Hall. 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.[3] Red squirrels, prevalent across the county (Northumberland), make use of and live in trees in gardens of the estate.[4]

The exclusivity of Darras Hall is, in part, regulated by the existence of the Darras Hall Committee.[5] 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.[6]

The 2011 census reveals that the population has seen an increase since 2001 and generally more families. The density of the constituent output areas 33A, 33F, 34A and 34C mirrors urban and suburban areas, with plenty of green spaces and exceptionally in 33A (straying into a small part of the village), a three-year higher median age than in 2001 of 54 and a slightly high dependent dependency ratio of 1.2 and in old age 1.7.[n 1][7] Most of the estate falls within 34C which has 1,464 people, a density of 580 per km² and a median age of 48, one year less than 10 years ago.

Notes and references

Notes

1. Number of people aged 16-64 for every person aged 0-16 and 65+

References

1. Grid reference Finder measurement tools
2. Morgan, Paula (23 December 2017). "Ten most expensive streets in north east". The Chronicle. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
3. Ponteland Online
4. Local Sign stating "Red Squirrels Crossing"
5. Darras Hall Residential Committee.
6. Trust deed could cause problems for Darras Hall housing development plans Archived 2013-04-22 at Archive.today by Paul Tully, The Journal (newspaper), 20 April 2011
7. 2011 census interactive maps