CONCERN has been voiced about the safety implications of landscaping as part of a big housing development in Darlington.

Yuill Homes' controversial plan for a development of 67 houses on the Mowden Rugby Club site will also involve some landscaping to the Baydale Beck walkway if it is granted planning approval.

But resident Ron Brook believes the plan to create "indoor rooms", to enclose parts on the open grassed area with shrubs, will make it unsafe for women and children.

He also fears that proposed mounds of earth, to be called clover mounds, will spoil the area.

Mr Brook, of Parkland Grove, said: "It is a lovely open area used all day long by people walking their dogs and playing, which might stop if it is all turned into enclosed sections and people don't feel safe.

"I think the developers really want to use it as a tip for the housing development, to create these clover mounds from the unwanted soil and debris, but they are describing it as enhancement."

A spokesman for Yuill Homes said that as part of the development the company wanted to strike a balance between realising the site's redevelopment potential and contributing to the wider enhancement of the area.

He said the plans included the creation of a wooded footpath link through the development to Baydale Beck, and substantial landscaping.

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council said that the consultation process for the planning application was ongoing and anyone wishing to make their views known should contact the council.

Local residents have formed the Mowden Pressure Group to oppose the planning application by the Hartlepool company.

Members of the pressure group feel that the rugby club site is open land which should be retained as an amenity for residents, to be used for sport and recreation.

The rugby club, in Yiewsley Drive, wants to move to a new ground at West Park, in Faverdale, which will include floodlit pitches, a clubhouse and room for 1,350 spectators.

The new ground will be part of the Bussey and Armstrong development of West Park over ten years, which will include 600 homes being built on the former Darchem chemical plant site.