PEOPLE living next to the Weardale Railway are calling for a public meeting to voice their concerns over development work at its main station.

With the line due to reopen on Saturday next week contractors are working flat out to finish work at Stanhope Station.

But residents of Bondisle Way say their lives have been disrupted by the project.

Chief target of the residents' complaints is a concrete block wall topped by a slatted fence which they say blocks a view of nearby fields and woodland.

They say youngsters have been unable to get to a football field across the line while the station footbridge is closed for last minute renovation.

And they say building materials have been left on site, while grass borders have been churned up by heavy vehicles.

Myra Milburn, who has lived on Bondisle Way for 35 years, said: "We want a public meeting with railway officials and Wear Valley District Council.

"This was a pleasant, quiet street. We didn't know this was going to happen. The railway people have not told us anything or asked us what we feel about it. They have had no consideration."

The railway project, which could attract 90,000 visitors a year, is one of seven key elements in a strategy for the revival of Weardale following job losses and the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Weardale Railway Trust chairman Steve Raine said: "We are happy to talk to residents at any time. Landscapers are due to arrive on Friday and we are confident that the area will look better when work is finished."

"There is an alternative way over the line to the field and we are improving disabled access. We can only ask people to be patient."