PLANS for 18 flats on a former garage site have won council backing - despite a residents' petition against them.

Middlesbrough Borough Council first discussed the proposals for the former Brookfield Garage site, in Low Lane, Middlesbrough, last December.

Councillors deferred making a decision on the flats, to be built by Barratt Homes, to go on a site visit. As part of their research, they listened to the views of nearby residents, who had raised a petition bearing 56 signatures.

The signatories, from Low Lane, Shetland Close and the Brookfield area to the north of Low Lane, complained that the flats would be obtrusive and their roofs too high, and suggested that bungalows would be a better alternative.

As a result of these and other objections, Barratt modified its plans. At a meeting of the council's planning committee last week, planning officer Ernie Vickers recommended that the plans be approved