RESIDENTS on a Chester-le-Street housing estate are angry about what they say is a lack of public consultation over plans to bulldoze parts of the area.

Residents on The Brooms estate, in Ouston, first heard of the plans when they received a letter from Chester-le-Street District Council, in April.

The council wants to demolish between 38 and 122 houses and sell the land to developers to build a more up-market estate.

Residents have been presented with four different options and have been invited to choose the most desirable. The most likely option will see 38 properties at the north end of the estate, most of them derelict, knocked down.

Other options include bulldozing progressively more of the area.

Dr Mike Newton spokesman for the Four As Residents Association, which represents the interests of people in streets Abernethy, Atholl, Angus and Alford, said there was no consultation with residents. He said that they had also heard that the money from the sale may not be put back into the area.

Kevan Jones, MP for Durham North, said: "These people haven't been given a chance to have their say. These proposals have just been foisted on them."

Council bosses said the social deprivation and neglect by some of the tenants has persuaded them to sell off the worst stock on the estate.

A council spokeswoman said no decision would be made on the preferred option until the public consultation process is finished, part of which was a meeting of the executive committee at Chester-le-Street Civic Centre last night where residents representatives were invited to put their views across.

She said the consultation included asking residents what they would like any money received to be spent on