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Darras Hall is an upland housing estate located in the village of
Ponteland Ponteland ( ) is a large village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The name means "island in the Pont", after the River Pont which flows from west to east and joins the River Blyth further downstream, be ...
. It is on the southwestern outskirts of the village, northwest of
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...
. It is generally regarded as the most expensive and exclusive place to live in the
North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...
and is home to numerous celebrities, professional footballers and some of the region's most powerful business leaders.


Geography

It is separated by a green buffer from
Newcastle International Airport Newcastle International Airport is an international airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK. Located approximately from Newcastle City Centre, it is the primary and busiest airport in North East England, and the second busiest in Northe ...
to the east and is one of the most affluent estates in
North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authori ...
. It has very expensive housing stock as well as the most expensive road in the North East. Several former professional footballers & fans including
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
,
Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his co ...
, and
Terry McDermott Terence McDermott (born 8 December 1951) is an English former football midfielder who was a member of the Liverpool team of the 1970s and early 1980s, in which he won three European Cups and five First Division titles. He was capped 25 times ...
live on the estate along with many current players from both
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
and
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. Nearby villages include
Heddon-on-the-Wall Heddon-on-the-Wall is a village in Northumberland, England, located on Hadrian's Wall. Heddon-on-the-Wall is roughly west of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, and just outside Throckley. The place-name 'Heddon' means 'hill where heather grew' ...
,
Throckley Throckley is a village located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, approximately west of Newcastle city centre. Hadrian's Wall passed through the village, its course traced by the village's main road, Hexham Road. Throckley lies within ...
, Westerhope,
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish ...
and
Hazlerigg Hazlerigg (often misspelled Hazelrigg) is a village and civil parish north of the Newcastle upon Tyne, City of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It is about north of the city centre, on the A1 road (Great Britain), A1. It is split ...
. The village itself has shopping facilities at Broadway Shopping Centre with further retail available in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...
accessed via the A696 or by bus. The nearby airport has a railway station that links to the city centre.


Demography

In the 21st century, a lot 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.
Red squirrels The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...
, prevalent across the county (
Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...
), 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. 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. 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. 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.


Civil parish

Darras Hall was a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
, in 1951 the parish had a population of 282. Darras Hall was formerly a
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
in Ponteland parish, from 1866 Darras Hall was a civil parish in its own right until it was abolished on 1 April 1955 and merged with Ponteland.


Notes and references

;Notes ;References {{authority control Villages in Northumberland Housing estates in England Former civil parishes in Northumberland