RESIDENTS have fought off council plans to sell open land in their village for housing development.

Durham City Council's development control committee voted against giving outline planning permission for two pieces of land south of Wood View, at Croxdale.

If permission had been given, the council would have sought to sell the land to a developer to boost its coffers.

The application, one of five by the authority, ran into strong opposition from residents - who wrote 16 letters of objection and sent a 58-name protest petition - and local councillor Joe Anderson and the City of Durham Trust.

Villagers feared they would lose a safe play area for their children and claimed the development would spoil the village's character, reduce their privacy and generate more traffic.

Councillor Anderson also said that homes on the land were knocked down several years ago "because they were sliding down the bank".

Councillors, who visited the site, dismissed the application despite being recommended to give approval by planning officers.

Officials said the land had been used for only informal recreation and that as there had been houses on it before it was a brownfield site.

Councillor Anderson said: "I am pleased at the decision and so are the people of the village.

"That land should be left as a recreation area for the village. It has a couple of seats and there are lights. It is well used in the summer. They should not build there. They should build at the top of the village."

The City of Durham Trust opposed the Croxdale application and similar ones at sites around the district, which have won approval.

Trust secretary Dr Douglas Pocock said: "We are against the applications in principle because there is more than enough housing for the city during the next local plan period.

"We know that the council is rather short of money and is desperate to get money.

"I'm sure we won't ditch that principle. The local plan, at the last stage, had a whole list of housing sites and there were 500 or 600 units more than they needed."

No one was available for comment at the council