BREWERY bosses confirmed yesterday that plans for the take-over of one of the region's leading breweries are already well under way.

A spokesman for Castle Eden Breweries said that the transfer of its plant, near Peterlee, to Camerons, in Hartlepool, would be completed by October.

But the key to a quick take-over may rest with the fate of a planning application to build 63 houses and 13 apartments on the Castle Eden Brewery site.

While workers at both breweries welcomed the swift buy-out package, residents in the picturesque village look likely to oppose the construction of so many new executive homes.

Although their protests are unlikely to halt the take-over, they could delay it.

The buy-out of Camerons by Castle Eden appeared to move on a pace this week after Pubmaster's bid to buy Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries-owners of Camer-ons was rejected.

But hopes of a fast take-over may be scuppered at a meeting tomorrow evening of Castle Eden Parish Council.

Chairman of the village authority, Councillor Bob Flint, said the village was being sacrificed for a handful of jobs.

"I believe residents will be totally against such a huge development. The building of so many houses will increase the number of dwellings by 40 per cent and totally swamp this community,'' he said.

He pointed out that Castle Eden had few facilities to sustain a development of this scale.

"We have no shop, no post office and no schools, all we have is one pub and a golf club,'' he said.

Last night, a spokesman for the brewery said that the multi-million pound development plans included the retention of the 175-year-old brewery building, the demolition of unsightly factory-style blocks.

As well as the executive homes, there would be a business centre creating 70 to 100 jobs.

He also revealed that developers Persimmon, along with brewery representatives, had been in "sensitive discussion" with village residents for several weeks to ensure that the new future for the old brewery met with general approval.

Easington District Council is displaying the plans in the authority's Seaside Lane offices and hopes to consider the application at a meeting on September 25