PLANS for homes on the outskirts of Durham City have won approval despite fears they will cause traffic chaos.

Developer IDS has won city councillors' approval after revising its proposals to build on former allotments and grazing land between Potterhouse Terrace and Front Street, Pity Me.

The firm originally wanted to build 38 houses, flats and apartments, but reduced the number to 37 to meet concerns raised about the development.

Local councillor Neil Griffin warned that plans for access from Potterhouse Terrace to Front Street, which include a mini-roundabout, would lead to chaos.

He told the development committee that Durham County Council, which considered the scheme acceptable from the highways aspect, should carry out a detailed survey on the implications for traffic.

He said the planned single lane access would lead to "total gridlock''.

He said: "It doesn't seem sensible to approve this application when you have only got half the facts.''

The plan generated 26 letters of objection from residents, concerned about losing an open space, and worried about parking and traffic problems, demolition of a 300-year-old building, and loss of privacy.

The committee heard that the developer had reduced the number of three-storey homes and re-sited others to allay the concern about privacy.

But Coun Griffin said: "Lip service has been paid to moving the development around Lego-fashion, but the three-storey element will be at its highest where Front Street is lowest.''

A report from planning officers said the county council agreed to the development provided a roundabout was built.

It said the scheme proposed a variety of accommodation that would provide "affordable housing within a well-established community''.

The report also described the development as "imaginatively designed'', and said that Pity Me would still have two open spaces, a recreation ground and a nature conservation area, if the site was built on.