PLANS have been drawn up to build a housing estate with 31 homes at the new West Park development.

The houses will be built at a site off West Auckland Road if a planning application is approved by Darlington Borough Council.

Darlington construction firm Bussey and Armstrong Projects Ltd are bidding to redevelop the former site of the Darlington Chemical and Insulating works.

The scheme is part of the multi-million pound regeneration of West Park.

The project, which began in 2004, will see the creation of a new self-contained community, with new houses, schools, shops, a pub and a hospital.

Progress on the project is already well under way after the opening of the West Park mental health hospital, and a new £3m Alderman Leach School.

The plans for the 121-acre West Park site won a design award from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

If approved, the plans for the new housing estate will see a mixture of one, two and three- bedroom apartments and houses built at the site, with a new access route from George Stephenson Way.

Some of the homes will be up to three storeys.

Barrie Armstrong, the local ward councillor for Faverdale, welcomed the scheme yesterday.

"The West Park project has been excellent for this area and it's really shaping up now," he said.

"It is a long-term project that will be built over a number of years, but some important parts are coming together.

"I attended the consultation events and I don't think there are any objections to this plan.

"The one major concern in this area is the impact of additional traffic in West Auckland Road, which is a major problem for a lot of people in this area."

The plans will be considered by Darlington council's planning committee within the next two months.

Outline planning permission has already been granted for residential development at the site.