PLANS FOR 61 houses on a former allotment site are being recommended for approval.

Gleeson Homes wants to build the mixture two, three and four-bedroomed detached, semi-detached and terraced homes on Dovecot Hill, South Church, near Bishop Auckland.

Durham County Council’s planning committee will discuss the proposals next week.

Twenty-one letters of objection have been received from nearby residents and businesses due to a number of concerns.

These include an increased strain on services in the area, no play provision and current sites can only be accessed across busy roads, the existing road network cannot cope with additional traffic, a negative impact on the ecological interest of the site and potential conflicts caused by smells and noise produced by nearby businesses.

Dene Valley Parish Council has also submitted concerns relating to loss of public open space, traffic generation, access restrictions and lack of play facilities.

In a report to the planning committee, Gleeson Homes states: “At present, as the site is not in active use and is vacant it attracts fly-tipping and the area suffers from anti-social behaviour. It arguably does not contribute to the local community other than offering a potential location for youths to gather and cause problems.”

In recommending the scheme for approval, planning officers said: “Although part of the site is safeguarded for open space purposes within the Wear Valley Local Plan, the designation is considered outdated because the previous allotment use that led to the designation has ceased and the land has reverted to agriculture.

“Moreover a recent open space needs assessment highlights that there is a significant over provision of open amenity space in the area and the designation is not being carried forward into the emerging County Durham Plan.”

A decision on the proposals is expected at the planning committee meeting on Thursday, February 19.