ALLOTMENT holders are digging in their heels to stop a council moving them off to make way for homes.

The Brickyard Allotments are on land designated for 100 semi-detached and detached properties in New Shildon, where £2m has been spent on regein the past few years.

The development would be part of the New Shildon Initiative, a programme agreed with residents and community groups to attract new families and improve the environment of one of the most deprived areas of the Sedgefield Borough. But the tenant gardeners say they will not move, claiming there is other suitable land in the area and that they have not been offered acceptable alternatives.

They rent the 11 plots from Shildon Town Council, who are 13 years in to a 99-year lease from Sedgefield Borough Council.

The borough's cabinet is being asked to give the town council notice to quit when it meets on Thursday.

A report from regeneration officer Stuart Timmiss says that new housing is crucial to New Shildon's long-term future.

The council has been negotiating with developers Broseley Homes over the scheme, which would include community open space as well as homes.

Shildon's town clerk Tom Toward is trying to find an alternative site for the allotments. He said: "We are trying to raise standards in the area and we need more quality housing to stop the drain of young people.

"Shildon is largely terraced properties and this would give a mix of semi and detached homes with gardens."

Allotment society secretary Joseph Moses, 75, said: "These allotments are close to our homes and we don't want to move.

"I have been on for 20 years and some have been there for generations. They are beautiful allotments and all the sheds are in good condition.

"We feel there is other land they could use for building and we are going to dig in because we have done our research and we think we have a chance of staying."