Plans for a new housing development on the edge of a North-East village were given the go-ahead yesterday.

George Wimpey North-East secured permission to build 83 houses on the outskirts of Merrybent, near Darlington.

Darlington Borough Council's planning committee gave its approval, to the fury of villagers who have long campaigned against the scheme.

Both Wimpey and the council were given an indication of the strength of local feeling when their representatives attended a recent meeting.

But a majority of planning committee members voted in favour of the development yesterday afternoon.

The lone objector was Conservative Councillor Gerald Lee, who said the scale of the development was far too large and there were concerns about the entrance to the site being off the busy A67.

He said: "This is a project maximising the number of houses and maximising profit, at the expense of the poor devils who have to live there."

The company insisted that the development would be built in a village style, incorporating a village green, open space and a pond.