Work is underway on the creation of a new housing development just a few miles from Durham.

Regional housebuilder Banks Homes is building 150 new homes at Station Road in West Rainton, which it has chosen as the location for its first large-scale residential development.

The County Durham-headquartered firm is acting as principal contractor on the Cathedral Meadows project and has appointed Teesside-based Wearmouth Construction to deliver the required infrastructure, landscaping and drainage work.

Up to 40 jobs will be supported on site during the development of the Cathedral Meadows site, with a range of further regional sub-contractors set to be appointed in the coming months.

It will see 120 detached, three-to-five bedroomed family homes being built, as well as a further allocation of 30 affordable homes, which will include two and three bedroomed houses and two-bedroomed bungalows.

Cathedral Meadows will also include a new play area, new landscaped areas and new areas of public open space, and as part of the project, long-awaited improvements have already been made to the West Rainton and Pittington Lane junctions of the A690, with Durham County Council installing new traffic signalling and a new pedestrian crossing.

The development will be officially launched in the summer, with the first occupants scheduled to be in their new homes by early next year.

Russ Hall, managing director at Banks Homes, said: “Banks’ longstanding policy is to invest in the expertise of local businesses wherever possible and the expertise that the Wearmouth Construction team offers makes them perfect for this project.

“Banks Homes is building a strong pipeline of projects across the North East and Yorkshire which will contribute directly to meeting the pressing need to improve and increase the housing supply in these areas.”