A PLANNING application has been lodged to build 34 homes on farmland.

Partner Construction has applied to Durham County Council for planning permission to build new homes on a hectare of farmland to the south-west of Thornley in east Durham.

The application proposes building 28 affordable houses, 23 of them for rent and five for sale under a shared-ownership scheme, on a site near Dunelm Road.

It also proposed building six other self-build homes to make the overall scheme viable and a total of 72 parking spaces.

The site sits opposite a recently completed 26-home development by Yuill Homes.

Developers say the affordable homes element of the scheme, to be managed by Home Group, will include 13 two-bedroom houses, nine three-bedroom houses and six two-bedroom bungalows.

The company says there is a clear demand for such affordable housing in the area and has drawn up plans to ensure that tenants are drawn from people who live or work in Thornley or who have "an essential need" to live close to someone already in the village.

A community consultation event on the proposals was held at Youll House, in Thornley in September, which was attended by 30 residents.

The application is expected to be heard by Durham County Council within the next few months.