DISUSED farm buildings in a Teesdale village will be turned into a storage facility for reclaimed building materials, despite opposition from locals.

People living in Winston, near Barnard Castle, aren't happy after plans to turn run-down agricultural sheds in the centre of the village into a storage depot were given planning permission at a Teesdale District Council planning meeting on Wednesday.

The buildings, which are next to Chestnut House, were last year the subject of an unsuccessful planning application to develop homes.

Residents say that the storage facility will attract crime to the village and will create too much noise, and Teesdale District Council received six letters of complaint from people in the village.

The council has argued that the site would create two jobs, and deliveries would only be allowed between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Councillor Ken Robinson, who voted in favour of the plan, said: "If villages such as Winston are to survive in the long term, then they have to maintain a mixture of domestic dwellings and small businesses."

Mike Taylor, from Winston, said: "They said it will create two jobs, but I can't see how a storage facility like that could make two new jobs.

"There's nothing else we can do now, but we will be armed with our digital cameras to make sure they stick to the rules."

Sally-Anne Hutchinson, whose house borders the site, said: "We would be happy with houses being built on the site. We want some neighbours."

The planning committee voted by a margin of nine to four to grant temporary consent for the change of use for the site