CONTROVERSIAL plans for a new football stadium in the North-East are back on track - despite the efforts of protestors who forced a replay.

Darlington councillors voted at a cabinet meeting yesterday to back a previous decision to hand over land in Neasham Road to the town's football club.

Members of a local residents' action group forced the authority to look at the plans again after they threatened legal action in the High Court in London.

They claimed that Darlington council would break European law on human rights by selling the land and allowing the new stadium to be built.

This is because of the impact it would have on a traveller community, which lives 40 yards from where the new home of Darlington FC would be.

Protestors also say the stadium would breach their "covenant for quiet enjoyment" of the area.

Darlington council agreed to go back to councillors to ensure that all the necessary legal issues were being addressed.

It carried out an investigation into the likely impact that any noise from the new ground would have, and it was deemed not to be excessive.

The authority also produced evidence from the police which said that there would be little threat to people living on nearby land in terms of their personal security.

In a report to councillors, Paul Wildsmith, director of corporate services, said the original decision at a meeting in March to go ahead with the stadium plans should not change.

He added that any claim for damages on behalf of the protesters is "unlikely to succeed".

If the stadium is built Darlington council would be required to provide measures to protect and preserve the amenity of local residents.

A council spokesman said: "This has now gone through the decision-making process for some time.

"The conclusion of the meeting was to support the recommendation of officers and to confirm the decision already made."

Two hurdles still remain for the stadium plan. First, it must be considered by a ratification committee, which has the final say on decisions made by the cabinet.

A meeting on September 6 will then consider the planning issues involved