PEACE-SEEKING residents of a retirement village will be celebrating, albeit presumably quietly, after seeing off an attempt to let holidaymakers muscle in on their exclusive hideaway.

Residents of the existing 28 static homes at Evergreen Park, near the picturesque Durham coastline at Crimdon, just north of Hartlepool, were up in arms that the site’s owners wanted to add 16 “executive holiday lodges”, claiming weekend holidaymakers would ruin their quiet way of life.

But Durham County Council’s central and east area planning committee came to their rescue on Tuesday by throwing out the expansion plans.

Ironically, one of the peace-loving residents hollered “Come on!” as the result of the vote was announced.

Earlier, planning officer Alan Dobie had told councillors at County Hall that there was be no clubhouse or other entertainment venue planned as part of the expansion and the new lodges would be “upmarket”.

“This is effectively aimed at families,” he said.

“It’s not your weekenders, necessarily. We feel the visitors to this site are likely to behave fairly reasonably and not cause undue noise or disturbance.”

However, Blackhalls county councillor Rob Crute said it was entirely the wrong site for such a development.

His colleague Lynn Pounder, speaking for the existing residents, said they had made Evergreen their permanent home and feared their quality of life and even their health would suffer and their privacy would be compromised by the new arrivals.

A spokesman for Evergreen Park Limited said the firm had no desire to create a “Butlin’s-style holiday park” and instead wished to maintain the site’s existing tranquillity.

Visitors would be carefully vetted so that existing residents would notice “no difference”, he said, adding there had been no complaints about noise in 12 years.

Councillor Patrick Conway said the issue was a “tricky one” but disagreed with Mr Dobie, saying visiting families would make a lot of noise.

Cllr John Lethbridge said it was a very attractive site for residents wanting to enjoy a “quiet life”.

Planning permission was refused by eight votes to two.

The destination, established as a caravan park for holidaymakers in the 1970s, lies just off the A1086 Coast Road.