PLANS for a children's nursery in Sedgefield may be approved, despite traffic fears.

Jane Thompson has applied to convert her house at North End into a nursery to cater for 28 pre-school children.

The need for more child-care provision in Sedgefield has long been recognised, and Mrs Thompson feels her nursery would partly address the problem.

Planning officers at Sedgefield Borough Council recommended refusal of the application because there would be insufficient parking for staff and visitors. But councillors said they would like to visit the site before making a decision.

At a meeting of the authority's development control committee, Mrs Thompson took advantage of new rules which allow applicants to speak for five minutes.

She tried to persuade members that the benefits of a high quality child care facility would outweigh any disadvantages.

She said strong support for the nursery has come from residents, health visitors and a nearby doctor's surgery.

She pointed to a survey which identified 80 potential clients, with only nine saying they would use a car to deliver and collect their children.

But council officers pointed to objections from Durham County Council, which predicted 38 trips a day to a nursery of that size.

The report said: "It is unlikely that many of the parents would walk to nursery unless they lived within a very close distance."

Coun Don Fraser said he was surprised by the objections from the county council.

He said: "They didn't seem to share the same concerns about nursery schools in Newton Aycliffe or anywhere else that I'm aware of."

Coun John Robinson, who represents Sedgefield, proposed a site visit and members agreed.

After the meeting, Mrs Thompson said she hoped councillors would agree there was enough parking space around the proposed nursery.

She said: "I'm very pleased with the way it went and happy they didn't just flatly refuse it. I'm a lot more confident now.