FACTORY bosses at Black and Decker have added weight to a campaign for a new children's nursery in Spennymoor.

The company, which has a factory and service centre in Spennymoor, has written to the borough council to support a bid to open a new facility for youngsters.

Susan Dunlop, of Green Lane, wants to convert a semi-detached house on the street into a private day nursery for up to 25 children.

Those supporting the bid claim the nursery would provide desperately-needed child care facilities for Spennymoor.

But council planners say the plan would cause traffic problems as there is inadequate access and it would create noise and disturbance.

Spennymoor Borough Council's development control committee, which was being recommended to refuse the plans, has now agreed to defer the application for a site visit by councillors.

A meeting of the committee, held last week, was told of a letter written by Claire Roberts, director of human resources at Black and Decker.

She wrote: "Spennymoor has a shortage of this type of facility where working parents could leave their children to be looked after."

Mrs Dunlop said "word had got around" about the nursery and local parents had been knocking on her door to give backing to the plans.

She had suggested to the council that she would be willing to reduce the nursery's intake to help reduce any problems that it may create.

A highways spokesman at Durham County Council said that proposed visitor drop-off bays on the driveway of the proposed nursery would not provide adequate space for getting vehicles in and out safely.

A bottleneck could be created preventing cars from leaving the site and causing vehicles to back up on the road.

He said the property was at the end of a very busy road and the borough council offices were about 200 yards away.

"The problem would be the number of vehicles coming to the facility at peak traffic periods," he said.