VILLAGERS spent the weekend celebrating after successfully staving off a proposed housing scheme on a cherished green haven.

The people of High Pittington, near Durham, now hope there will be no future developments planned for the small area of open space, north of Coalford Lane, by ensuring it wins village green status.

Weekend celebrations were prompted by Friday evening's decision of Durham City Council development control committee to refuse planning permission for a proposed bungalow complex.

Durham Aged Mineworkers' Homes Association wanted to build a range of eight bungalows for the elderly on part of the Coalford Lane green area.

The site lies within the settlement boundary for High Pittington, in the City of Durham Local Plan.

But in the revised draft plan, which could be adopted next year, it falls outside the accepted boundary and is classed as in open countryside, where new housing can only be built with agricultural or forestry justification.

Pittington Parish Council strongly opposed the application, claiming it would spark wholesale development of what it considers its "village green", used as a public right of way and recreational area.

Parish members were also concerned over road safety for vehicles gaining access to and from the development, on to Coalford Lane.

The parish recently lodged an application with Durham County Council for the site to be registered as village green.

But that application is yet to be considered by the authority's legal department.

Members of the city council's development control committee were told to ignore the village green claim and to consider the bungalows bid on planning grounds only.

After visiting the site, committee members voted against the proposal, citing road safety fears, loss of amenity, and the fact that it is contrary to the emerging local planning policy.

Parish council chairman Bill Kellett said: "The presence of so many people when the councillors visited the site showed the strength of feeling.

"If this had been given the go-ahead it wouldn't have stopped with these eight bungalows."