A CONSTRUCTION company criticised over a £7million housing development on the site of a former school has reaffirmed its commitment to community consultation.

Esh Property services is building 76 homes on the former Eastbourne School site, off Yarm Road, in Darlington, in collaboration with others including Darlington Borough Council and social housing providers.

Work on the homes began in March, but a number of residents have since said they feel their lives had been blighted by the development.

Esh said it had consulted fully with residents before building started and had subsequently suspended work on the site on a number of occasions, to enable residents to hold follow-up meetings to address concerns.

The company has responded following a recent article on The Northern Echo website, for which a comment was sought, but not received by the time the story was posted.

A spokeswoman for Esh Property Services said: “The entire development has received full planning consent and all works are proceeding in accordance with that approval.

“An extensive consultation was undertaken with the local community prior to plans being submitted and comments and concerns voiced were taken into to account and plans refined before the final proposals were submitted and subsequently ratified.

“Esh Property Services specialises in working closely with communities in order to create exceptional homes for individuals and families to live and work and in which those communities thrive.

“The works at Eastbourne are being carried out to our usual stringent procedures and very high standards."

The spokeswoman added that, when work had been halted, it was only resumed with the permission of the council.