RESIDENTS have resurrected their fight against a supervised housing scheme in their community.

The scheme involves converting a house on Prince's Street, near Bishop Auckland town centre into a house share, where young people between 16 and 25-years-old can learn to live independently with supervision.

Three Rivers Housing, who are behind the project, have stated it will not house young offenders, but people living near the project have reacted with suspicion and fear the true intentions of the project will not become apparent until the scheme is under way.

People living nearby felt so strongly about the matter that they formed an action group to fight the plans and achieved a victory in January when part of the project was knocked back.

Three Rivers Housing was refused planning permission to build three flats on Braithwaite Street, which would accommodate more youngsters on the scheme run by the Depaul Trust.

It was rejected by councillors on the basis that it had caused a fear for personal safety among nearby residents, who felt it would house troublemakers.

Now the action group wants the house share scheme to be turned into some other form of social housing, such as home for the elderly or disabled.

They have taken legal advice and claim the house conversion should need planning permission because it constitutes a change of use - paid employees will live on the site, which does not constitute living together as a family.

Under planning laws, converting a property to a house share does not need permission.

Joyce Wilson from Prince's Street said: "We still want Three Rivers to look for a different client group of people to live in the house. Mentally disabled people or other groups are no problem to us.

"The community is still living in fear of this development which is only yards from the Braithwaite Street property where planning permission was turned down for this very reason."

On previous occasions, Three Rivers Housing Association have maintained the young people to be housed are vulnerable because they do not have support from their own families and the association is obliged to ensure the safety of young, vulnerable tenants.

No-one from Wear Valley District Council was available for comment.