A CARE home with 72 bedrooms has been approved despite fears about parking problems.

Derwentside District Council gave planning permission for a Gary Lewis Care Centre in Wear Road in Stanley last year but then the company submitted an amended application.

Minor modifications mean part of the building could be used as a young disabled persons' unit.

The eastern wing of the building needs to be up to four metres wider to create larger bedrooms for people with wheelchairs.

One resident was concerned that the home may create inadequate parking conditions for those living nearby.

But council officers advised the development control to back the scheme because it believed no extra traffic would be generated.