SEVENTY families may be given a chance to have their homes heated by a central timber-burning stove to save them buying coal or using electric heaters.

A three-month feasibility study is being carried out to see how the scheme would work on the Leekworth estate, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham.

If the scheme goes ahead, it will be one of the first of its kind in Britain, though there are many such heating projects in Scandinavia.

Until now, it has been claimed the system would be a success only if it covered at least 200 houses, but it is hoped this will prove that a smaller scheme can be viable.

The Energy Savings Trust has given Teesdale District Council a £6,000 grant to carry out the study.

Officials will start calling at all 70 houses soon to explain the idea, and a public meeting will be held in September.

The aim is to set up a central furnace and boiler, which will burn timber chippings and pump hot water through pipes to all the houses, as well as to a nearby hall and school.

Jane Welsh, the council's co-ordinator of environment and health, said: "I think it will be fantastic if we can get this under way. Timber is a non-polluting fuel and we have plenty of it in this part of the world.

"Ash from the furnaces can be put back on to forest floors to act as a fertiliser, so there is no waste."

About half the houses on the estate are council-owned, and the coal-fired heating systems are due to be replaced in the next few years.

The village hall boiler is also due to be replaced, so some of the cost of changing to the new system would be absorbed.

Residents will have meters to enable them to only pay for the heat used. Experts say it will be cheaper than coal, oil or electricity. Only gas is cheaper at the moment, but there is no prospect of the village receiving a mains supply.

The Forestry Commission is giving its support to the study. It is felt that if it goes ahead and proves successful, it will lead to other schemes being set up.

That will push up the demand for timber and create extra jobs