A DISUSED children's home will be demolished to make way for 20 homes.

Shepherd Homes has submitted plans to Darlington Borough Council for the site of the former Beech Rise Young People's Centre, in Darlington.

The home, in Barmpton Lane, was closed by the council in 2000.

Originally built as an assessment centre for young people, it later became a permanent home for a small number of children.

The York developers wants to knock down the buildings to make way for new housing, with garages, roads and external works on the 1.68 acre site.

The two-and-a-half storey homes will consist of 13 three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses and seven four-bedroom detached properties.

Company spokesman Chris Mason said: "We are looking, subject to planning, to start work later in the summer."

The council and developers have exchanged contracts, subject to planning permission being granted at a forthcoming planning meeting