PLANNING concillors have rejected an application to build a new housing estate in a growing village.

Developers hoped to build the homes outside Middleton St George, but the bid was defeated after opposition from residents, the local parish council and, ultimately, Darlington Borough Council.

The scheme would have seen 36 homes built on land off Yarm Road.

The application, drawn up by Isaac Ward, sought to build a terrace street of nine houses with two or three bedrooms, plus 18 three-bed semi-detached homes, and nine detached homes featuring three or four bedrooms.

Mr Ward had claimed that the estate would have addressed a lack of affordable housing in the village, but planners at the council disagreed.

Officials also raised concerns about the lack of information relating to traffic management, noise impact and land contamination included in the application, and recommended that members reject the plan.

At the planning committee this week, Coun Doris Jones, chair of the village parish council, urged councillors to reject the plan. Mr Ward did not attend the meeting.

Coun Jones said: “I thought the applicant would have been here today, but the lack of information he has provided to the council makes me wonder how serious he is about this application.

“I thank the officers for taking this sensible approach to the project.

“There is a problem with speeding traffic and a lack of restrictions on Yarm Road, but any child living on this estate would have to cross this severely busy main road to get to the other side.”

The three-acre site is to the east of Middleton St George, and runs parallel to a series of allotments. Developers argued that the homes would meet the need for affordable housing in the Middleton St George area, but in March, the local parish council agreed to enter a formal objection to the plans amid concerns that the influx of new residents would lead to increased pressure on village facilities.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England also opposed the plans, and 18 letters of objection were received from members of the public.

At this week’s meeting, committee member Coun Isobel Hartley proposed that the bid be rejected.

She said: “I move we refuse this – it seems it goes against practically everything.”

The committee voted unanimously to reject the application.