CAMPAIGNERS who blocked plans to build flats in the West End of Darlington are gearing up for a fresh battle.

Shepherd Homes has submitted a new application to build 41 flats in the wooded grounds of Greystones, a Victorian villa in Carmel Road North.

A similar proposal was thrown out by councillors in April, following the biggest objection ever to a single development in the town.

Now the developer has lodged an appeal against the original decision and hasmade a fresh application with 'minor modifications.'

Carmel Road resident David Hayward has accused the developers of using 'bullying tactics.'

He said: "We are furious and amazed that Shepherd Homes have come back and submitted a virtually identical scheme which now has to be fought again through the planning procedure."

Protestors say they fear Greystones, one of the last remaining Victorian villas in the West End, will fall derelict if it is completely surrounded by flats. They also claim the volume of traffic would increase on an already congested Carmel Road North by about 400 car trips a day.

There are also concerns that an important area of woodland would be lost.

Mr Hayward said: "If they're allowed to do that it's going to make a complete mockery of the tree preservation order which the whole of the West End of Darlington is protected by."

He added: "The only way we can possibly save this important mansion and its grounds is to get even more public support than before.