AROUND 90 council houses look set to be demolished as part of plans to regenerate two deprived former mining communities.

Derwentside District Council has released plans to flatten 49 homes in Heathfield Gardens, Catchgate, near Stanley, and a further 40 properties in Ewehurst Road and Ewehurst Parade in nearby Dipton.

Most of the properties are empty and no residents have objected to the proposals.

The report by planning officers says: "The maintenance costs and low equity of such properties are placing a financial burden upon the council's resources."

Elsewhere, developers have applied for planning permission to build a total of 122 homes.

George Wimpey North is seeking to build 43 dwellings on the site of the former council depot in Kitswell Road, Lanchester.

The development would consist of 25 flats in a three-storey block, plus nine terraced houses and nine detached properties. There would also be a new access road to join Kitswell Road.

Dunelm Castle Homes has submitted plans for 44 houses with detached garages at Middles Farm, Middles Road, Craghead.

The plans would see the demolition of existing buildings on the site, comprising of a plant hire firm and two houses.

The firm has applied for permission to build a further 35 houses next to the cricket ground at Quaking Houses, Stanley.

The development would be a mixture of three and four bedroom homes, made up of detached, semi-detached and terraced dwellings.

There will also be a new access road and a new access for the cricket club, plus a footpath to join the estate to an existing right of way to the east of the site.

Planning officers will recommend all the schemes for approval when the council's development control committee meets this Thursday at 2pm in the council chamber in Consett Civic Centre.