A council plan to build 282 homes on a neglected industrial site in County Durham has been praised. 

Durham County Council’s bid to build the new housing development at an industrial estate between Peterlee and Horden was agreed on Friday. 

The approval comes 10 years after the local authority initially announced plans to redevelop the site at Stephenson Road

Commercial and industrial units were cleared but progress stalled despite planning permission for 390 homes in 2014. 

North East Industrial Estate in Peterlee, which will be redeveloped for housingNorth East Industrial Estate in Peterlee, which will be redeveloped for housing (Image: Joint Administration)

Locals say the site has since been a hotbed for anti-social behaviour and crime.

“It looks like war-torn Beirut when you’re on the ground looking at it,” said Susan McDonell, of Peterlee West ward.

The county councillor urged all members to vote in favour of transforming the derelict site. She said: “It’s far worse than when it was a thriving industrial estate. 

“Residents have had to endure rising anti-social behaviour including fly-tipping, vandalism, and arson, as well as undesirables who use the estate for drug taking, gang meetings, and rat runs as they tear around on their off-road and quad bikes. 

“Affordable, good-quality housing is desperately needed in this area.”

A further planning application detailing the appearance and layout of the new estate is due later this year. A housing developer will then be invited to build the estate. 

Funding is already in place from Homes England towards the cost of redeveloping the brownfield site, the council said. 

The main access is proposed from the A1086/Thorpe Road to the north, with a secondary access proposed from Armstrong Road to the west, next to the Kookaburra industrial premises.

Councillor Patricia Jopling said she was delighted to consider the new housing state on a brownfield site. “It’s an absolute joy that we’re turning something so ugly into nice housing,” she told the meeting. 

(Image: Joint Administration)

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Meanwhile, councillor Kevin Shaw also backed the plans. He said: “It’s been a blot on the landscape for far too many years and I’m also delighted to approve this.”

However, councillor Jonathan Elmer shared concerns over the amount of affordable housing available. While 10 per cent of homes are required to be affordable housing, no details of the proposed number or type of these units have been submitted. 

“It seems odd that a development of such scale can’t find a way to make the provision of affordable housing viable,” he said.