A CONTROVERSIAL housing development on the site of a former hospital in County Durham has been given the go ahead.

Planners have agreed to allow Miller Homes to build 26 detached houses, 16 town houses and 53 apartments, in Newcastle Road, Chester-le-Street.

The buildings will be two, two-and-a-half and three storeys high, which prompted fears from residents that they would dominate the skyline and affect light.

A previous application from the company to build 26 detached dwellings and 78 apartments was rejected by Chester-le-Street District Council in February.

The council received 117 letters from nearby householders in opposition to the revised plan.

Protestor Enid Moss said: "We are very disappointed because it has only been improved slightly.

"It is going to lower the tone of the area and this has really annoyed people.

"We knew it was going to be built on but it should enhance the area and this will not."

The planning committee heard the development was likely to create about 600 vehicle movements a day, an increase of 57 per cent.

But planners agreed with the recommendations made by officers, who advised them the plan would create much-needed homes near the town centre.

A report which was submitted to the committee said: "The proposed development would include the provision a number of affordable housing units.

"The provision of such units would allow certain sections of the community to gain access to the housing market where otherwise they may not have been able to do so."

Miller Homes lands director Simon deVere said the development secured the rejuvenation of a derelict brownfield site.

He said it was in a prominent position on a main arterial route leading into Chester-le-Street.

Mr deVere said: "Prior to the granting of planning permission Miller Homes undertook extensive public consultation so that we could better understand the material concerns of local residents and we sought to accommodate these where possible.

"As a result, Miller Homes has designed a scheme which will improve the quality of the area, and taking on board the prevailing constraints has sought to respect the amenity and the privacy of existing residents through the appropriate use of siting and orientation of the new buildings."