PEOPLE campaigning against the building of a football stadium have vowed to take their case to the High Court after councillors refused to give the scheme the red card.
Members of Darlington Borough Council's planning applications committee yesterday re-affirmed planning consent for a 25,000-seater stadium at Neasham Road.
Permission for the stadium was first granted earlier this year, subject to numerous conditions, but the authority was forced to look at the plans again after a group threatened legal action.
People living near the site argued that the authority would be violating the human rights of the traveller community, livinge just 40 yards from the proposed new home of Darlington FC.
Darlington council ensured all necessary legal issues had been addressed and, subject to the planning conditions being met. the club will now be able to build the stadium.
At yesterday's meeting, council leader John Williams rejected claims that football hooligans would target the travellers.
He said the vast majority of supporters were law-abiding citizens who wanted to see their town and team prosper.
"A day doesn't seem to go by without opponents of the scheme coming up with new reasons why the stadium shouldn't go ahead," he said.
"With the conditions we have imposed we have done everything possible to protect the interests of local residents."
Gary Nixon, the spokesman for the travellers, said they had every reason to fear football hooligans and right-wing groups, which might be attracted to the stadium.
"The council is guilty of showing no concern, guilty of no compassion, guilty of human rights violations, and guilty of racial discrimination," he said.
Marcus Nimmo, spokesman for the Neasham Road Action Group, said they would be consulting barristers with a view to taking the council to the High Court to press for a judicial review.
"We have no intention of giving up our fight," he said.
No date has been fixed for the transfer of the Neasham Road site, although club spokesman Luke Raine said they hoped work would begin very shortly
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