PLANS for a mobile phone mast to be erected in a golf club's grounds have been approved.

Telecommunications company Vodafone applied to Darlington Borough Council for permission to site the 24-metre mast on land occupied by Blackwell Grange Golf Club, off Briar Close.

The mast has been designed to look like a Cypress tree, to allow it to fit in with the surroundings.

But the prospect of it being erected on the site brought objections from local people and the Blackwell Grange Residents' Association.

They were concerned about the size of the mast and its proximity to nearby houses.

However, the development was supported by the council's planning committee on Wednesday afternoon.