DEVELOPERS have been given the go-ahead to build 149 homes on green belt land, signalling the end of a decade-long battle against the proposal.

All but one member of the planning committee of Wear Valley District Council voted in favour of the plans, to allow Bryant Homes to build houses on former agricultural land at Bracks Farm, Bishop Auckland.

The argument over building on the site has been raging for more than ten years.

The original application was for more than double the amount of houses, but, after an inquiry in 1995, the planning inspector ordered that the number of homes be cut to about 100.

At a two-hour meeting in Crook Civic Centre earlier this week protestors clashed again with councillors.

Campaigners were outraged when the chairman of the planning committee, Alan Townsend, told the meeting that one of the protestors, Keith Hodgson, could not speak before the committee as a parish councillor because it amounted to a conflict of interest.

He also claimed that Mr Hodgson had breached policy guidelines by posting campaigners' views on leaflets to committee members and asked members if they had been "swayed by its content".

Some councillors said they had torn up the leaflet before reading it fully.

Councillor Chris Foote Wood claimed the area was suffering from "southern planning".

He said that although Government guidelines allowed high-density houses to be built on brown field sites, the rules were introduced to help the South-East's population expansion, rather than for the North-East.

He said: "This is not an urban area. This is not a brown field site. It is a green field site and of a high landscape value. This is a site that cries out for high-quality, low-density development."

Councillor Derek Jago echoed Coun Foote Wood's sentiments, saying that the proposal showed no social planning, as there were no amenities for youths or community centres.

But Councillor Margaret Ingledew defended the scheme.

She said: "There's no work round here and we need somewhere for people to get jobs. These plans for 149 houses is a damn site better than the original plans for 300-odd."

The application was passed