DURHAM county councillors have rejected a plea to save a village's recreation ground from development.

The licensing and registration committee refused an attempt from people at Ushaw Moor to have land near Broom Lane designated as village green.

Designation would have saved the land from having almost 150 homes built on it.

Durham City Council, which owns the land, has formed a company called the Durham Villages Regeneration Company with Doncaster developer Keepmoat to carry out the development.

The council said the development would provide private money for its Single Regeneration Budget scheme to breathe new life into Ushaw Moor and nearby villages.

It objected to the village green application by a group of Ushaw Moor residents.

Solicitor Pat Holding told the committee that a barrister had advised that the applicants failed to meet a crucial criterion for village green status - that the public's use of the land was a right.

She said the city council had only given implied permission for public use.

The committee approved the development without debate.

Earlier this week the city council announced that Secretary of State for Local Government Stephen Byers would allow it to grant planning permission.

The City of Durham Trust, which opposed the development, accused the council of "steamrollering" the application before a planning inspector ruled if the site should be allocated for housing in the new Local Plan, the blueprint for the Durham area.