PEOPLE opposed to the new Darlington football stadium, have written to the Local Authority Ombudsman to complain about the way planning restrictions have been implemented.

People living near to the site of the stadium in Neasham Road say Darlington Borough Council is not ensuring that contractors keep to rules about working times.

Protestors fear that if the restrictions concerning working hours are not kept, those referring to the running of the complex will similarly be ignored.

Last month, the council amended a planning condition to allow contractors to work after 7pm, if it did not cause noise or disturbance to neighbouring people.

Some of those living in the area now say the contractors are regularly working late and, despite the planning restrictions, they are only being notified after the work has started.

Protestors spokeswoman Jan Mazurk said: "They are regularly working until 4am, but I received a letter saying this would happen a day after it had started.

"We have also now been told that from August 10 until September they will be doing pointing work on Sundays, when we were led to believe only emergency work would be done on Sundays.

"It seems anything goes. How long will it be before we get a rock concert at the stadium, but they let it go ahead because it is only a small event? We will not let that happen.

"I find the actions of Darlington Borough Council to be at all times antagonistic to the residents of Neasham Road and we intend to make the strongest complaint to the Ombudsman."

A Darlington council spokesman said the contractors were keeping to the new planning condition by working on ongoing processes, such as concreting, late at night. Noise pollution from the site had been measured and was well below acceptable levels

He said: "It does not have to be an emergency for the contractors to work on a Sunday. They just have to ask for written permission and then we will inform residents, as we have done. Actually, they need no permission for emergency work."