A Consett woman has unearthed a covenant which she hopes will scupper attempts to turn land used as playing fields into a car park.

Sandra Reynolds has joined up with other parents to oppose a plan to turn the land to the east of Dixon Street in Blackhill, Consett, into a car park with 92 spaces.

The land, which is next to the newly refurbished Blackhill Park, is not designated as a playing field but has been used for football games for generations.

Planners have recommended Derwentside District councillors approve the scheme, put forward by the council's leisure services deparmtent, when it goes before planning committe members next Friday.

Between 40 and 80 members of the public attended a meeting at The Cricketers in Blackhill to discuss the issue and at least 30 letters of objection have been sent to the council. Mrs Reynolds, who has two boys, and other campaigners have leafleted residents in the area and have discovered a covenant at the Land Registry which she says limits development of the land.

She said: "How safe will children, young people and elderly residents be with a potential huge increase of traffic on streets which have previously had no through traffic?"

The covenant, agreed between Derwentside District Council and former owners of the land British Steel in 1983, states that the land should not be used for any purpose except for garages, allotments or playing fields.

Alex Watson, leader of the council and member of the planning committee, said that although the car park plan had been recommended for approval it was 'no rubber stamping exercise.'

He said: "The demand is partly a result of the success of the bowling club there which is very popular and the increased use, including a band, with the refurbished park. But you can understand the concerns and there is no guarantee that this will be approved. We will see what Sport England and the Highways Authority, who we are consulting, have to say."

In a report council planner Fiona Clarke said: "I do not consider that the amount of traffic generated by users of the car park would be detrimental to the occupiers of the surrounding properties."

District council director of public services Mike Clark said the authority was aware of the covenant but believed the plan was for the good of the community and therefore in the spirit of the covenant. He added that, although there was an expectation that access would be provided for vehicle access to the park, the Heritage Lottery Board had not stipulated that a car park must be built before it provided £977,000 for Blackhill Park's refurbishment.