Family of boxing world title contender win fight to build new home

The featherweight boxer’s wife, Chantelle Morrison, applied to build a permanent home for them and their three children on green belt land off Pittington Road, in Rainton Gate, near West Rainton.

He is living in a caravan shared by 13 people and needs a home “conducive to elite-level competition”, according to the plans.

A static caravan and hardstanding already on the site were “unauthorised”, the planning meeting heard.

A previous application was refused as inappropriate in November last year and an appeal was dismissed.

This time, NHS care worker Ms Morrison argued there were “very special circumstances” to justify approving the three-bedroomed house.

She said her husband Tommy was “a well respected member of the local community and a great role model to all” who volunteered his time to help others and supported local events and fundraisers.

She told the Durham County Council planning committee the family were settled and thriving with good, trusting links with professionals.

She said: “We have lived in West Rainton all our lives. We both were brought up on the travellers’ site on Adventure Lane, which is a well established settled community.

“There’s no availability on the site or on any other site close by. We are not priority for a council property.

“We are unable to get a mortgage due to the size of the house we need because Tommy is self-employed.

“It is more cost-efficient to build our own property.

“We have full support from our neighbours and we are sure that our property fits into the surroundings.”

Agent Mark Ketley added: “Tommy is a professional boxer, currently ranked eighth in the world in the featherweight division and a genuine contender for a world title.

“The site is entirely visually contained. There’s no encroachment into the green belt as a consequence of this development.”

Letters from a school headteacher, health visitor, youth organisation manager and project worker also supported the application.

Planning officers said it was still inappropriate development in the green belt and the family circumstances did not meet the “very high bar” to outweigh that harm.

But the plan was approved after a 7-6 vote with Councillor Carl Marshall saying: “I don’t think the development is detrimental to the green belt. I don’t think it sets a precedent for other applications.”

He proposed approving the plan, and this was carried by a 7-6 vote.

A supporting statement on the planning application said: “At present the family reside with Mr Ward’s mother in a caravan where there are 13 members of the family sharing the same space.

“Mr Ward is a professional boxer with a promising career ahead of him and with aims of a world title contest in the not-too-distant future.

“The family’s existing living conditions are far from satisfactory for a young professional sportsman.

“The contribution that Mr Ward makes to the local community cannot be underestimated, especially in motivating youngsters and getting them off the streets to pursue sporting activity and instilling a level of respect and discipline.

"For this reason alone Mr Ward prefers to remain a resident in the local area.”