AMBITIOUS plans to transform a former Darlington wool factory into an eco-village have moved a step closer.

Darlington Borough Council has sanctioned designs for 259 homes and two apartment blocks be built on the old Patons and Baldwins’ site at Lingfield Point, in the east end of the town.

The properties, which will have between two and four bedrooms, include 99 detached houses, 68 semi-detached homes and 92 terraced properties.

The proposals are part of a £100m redevelopment of the area, with outline planning permission already given for a school, care home, offices, energy centre and wind turbine, and sports and arts facilities.

The 107-acre Lingfield Point site already includes a children’s nursery, a café bistro, picnic areas, beehives and public art.

Concerns had been received from two residents that the development would cause an increase in traffic along McMullen Road, and fears were also raised about the loss of trees to facilitate the development.

However, Dave Coates, Principal Planning Officer for Darlington Borough Council, said the plans were acceptable and that the design of the homes wouldn’t affect the wider area.

He said: “The external appearance, landscaping, and layout of the residential development are considered acceptable.

“While the development would result in the loss of a number of protected trees, the majority of are not considered to be high quality.

“The landscaping would not provide compensatory tree planting to mitigate their loss but would benefit the site ecologically.

“The scheme is also sensitive to its surroundings and will have no impact on residents living in McMullen Road and Red Hall.”

Bosses behind the development previously revealed it had been inspired by projects across the world, including Malmo, in Sweden.

Andrew Paley, managing director of architects JRP Associates, said: “This is not just a housing estate; we want it to have its own character.

“This has never been done before and we want to learn from the experiences of other places.

“We looked at how other similar things have worked and how we can build it into what we have here.”