Plans for £20.7m housing estate a step closer

If approved, the housing estate will have 156 homes

The construction of 156 new homes on the edge of a village has been recommended for approval.

If given the go-ahead, the £20.7m housing estate will be built on land close to Westerton Road in Coundon, Bishop Auckland.

Durham County Council said there had been more than 500 objections to the development including fears over the loss of a field dating back to 1843.

The county council will decide on the plans at a meeting on Wednesday.

A report said the estate, which will be on 10.6 hectares (26 acres) of greenfield land, will include 24 affordable homes and that the developers will give more than £500,000 to the local authority to mitigate the estate's impact on the region.

This money will be spent on various services such as increasing local GP provision as well as nursery and early years capacity.

The proposed estate will be made up of 16 one and two bedroom apartments, 12 two and three bedroom bungalows and 128 two, three and four bedroom houses.

Other objections sent to the council included worries of an increase in traffic in the area and the loss of agricultural land.