A Darlington councillor is going all-out to ease the "horrendous" impact of a major airport expansion on people living nearby.

At a meeting yesterday, Coun Jim Ruck "called in" a scheme for a business park at Durham Tees Valley Airport, saying there was alternative land for such use - information which was not available to a committee which considered the plans last month.

Coun Ruck wants the matter to be re-examined and for members of the joint strategy committee to visit the site.

Coun Doris Jones, chairman of Middleton St George Parish Council, has been spearheading opposition to the park's location.

She welcomed the move, saying: "Surely it is not asking too much for the effect on residents to be taken into account."

The issue was called in by Darlington environment scrutiny committee. Coun Ruck said he had taken action because the joint strategy committee was not aware that airport managing director Hugh Lang agreed to investigate a disused football area as an alternative site for the business park and offices at a public meeting in the village.

Mr Lang accepted this would mean buildings would not be put near homes on the Oaktree estate.

"This would be an acceptable compromise for the residents, as opposed to the approved area which is at the bottom of their gardens and just ten metres from living room and bedroom windows," said Coun Ruck.

"It was also explained that, when the plans were drawn up, the airport did not own this piece of land - but it does now."

Coun Ruck said that if the strategy committee had been aware of all this, it could have viewed the application differently.

As it was, the committee agreed to tell Darlington and Stockton councils they should be satisfied that office development was "aviation-related" and that the loss of greenfield for the business park was fully justified on the basis that it was for airport development.

Coun Ruck said this week: "The scheme as it stands is horrendous for those poor people in the houses nearby.

"But there seems to be a way round it. It would be natural to have a business block on the pitch site rather than in the centre of a conurbation.

"A sensible approach would be to examine this yet again as it is a very important development.

"We don't want to stop airport growth or jobs, but let's have a site visit and look at this in the light of the new information. The committee was at a disadvantage by not knowing the position on the football land."

Coun Jones, who is also a borough councillor, stressed that the village was not against airport expansion.

"We fully support that and favour the jobs it will bring," she said. "But all we ask is that they consider the neighbours - the people of Middleton St George - who have to live with this for years to come.

"Once this is built, we can't go back.

"The football land is not the only alternative - there are other brownfield sites which are still next to the airport and which could be used.

"I want the committee to look at this with sympathy for the residents."