ABOUT a hundred villagers packed a public meeting to protest about plans to build homes on a quiet residential estate.

Families from the new Castlehills Estate, at Castleside, near Consett, claim they were misled by developers who built 60 houses last year. They say they were sold the homes on the understanding that no more houses would be built, spoiling views and bringing extra traffic.

Developers Persimmon have now applied to build 15 more homes.

At Castleside Village Hall on Tuesday, residents questioned Derwentside District Council officials about the plan.

Last week, a spokesman for Persimmon said the application for 15 homes was very modest and would not drastically alter the estate. He said that the small increase in traffic would easily be accommodated.