A NEW housing estate in Northallerton is at the centre of a planning row as residents have pleaded for building to stop.

People living off Bankhead Road are still suffering from the effects of recent flooding, with many still unable to move back into their homes.

Although there are many in the town who have suffered a similar fate, people living in Bankhead Road feel that the building of a new housing estate opposite their homes is to blame.

The claims were made at a public meeting on Wednesday night called by the town council.

Representatives from local councils and the Environment Agency were told how water had poured from the new estate into the houses opposite leaving residents unable to do anything.

Whether the housing estate, which is being built by Barratt York, had had planning permission became the subject of a heated debate.

Miss Nancie McDougall, from Romanby, told the meeting she had attended a planning meeting in November where it was revealed building had begun on the estate without an adequate surface drainage system having been agreed with Hambleton District Council.

Coun John Coulson, who is a county councillor and a district councillor, backed this claim, saying he had it confirmed in writing that a proposed drainage system had been rejected twice by the council. He added that the council had given planning permission for the estate but one of the conditions was that the drainage system had to be agreed first.

Mr Cyril Dyke, who attended the meeting on the council's behalf, confirmed that the development did in fact have planning permission from Hambleton District Council.

He also confirmed that the surface water drainage system had not been agreed and negotiations with Barratt York were still on-going.

"It is true that they can actually start building without this being agreed," said Mr Dyke. "This is something we are going to take up with central government."

He was asked by a woman who lived opposite the development if the council could stop building work until something was sorted out. He said it was not in the council's power to do so.

Another resident told how he had written to Barratt York to complain about the state of the building site and read out a reply that stated it had permission for the surface water drainage scheme. Mr Dyke said this was not the case.

A spokesman for Barratt York said yesterday morning: "No-one from the company was invited to attend a public meeting. However our site manager at Northallerton did attend a previous emergency meeting.

"We obviously sympathise with these residents whose homes - like so many others in Northallerton - have been affected by freak weather conditions.

"The drainage scheme for the development was fully approved by Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency and we are currently having further discussions with local planning officials. The situation has not been caused by any work undertaken by ourselves.