RESIDENTS have vowed to fight plans for new housing that they say will spell the end for their village.

People in Lanchester, are set to flood Derwentside District Council with letters of objection to the proposal, which would see a former garage showroom turned into housing.

Residents fear that, if the plan gets approval, it will lead to a much bigger development.

The row is over a plan to turn the Russell Close garage on the A691 road into six, four-bedroom detached houses. The site falls within the village's designated conservation area and outside the area earmarked for development.

The owner of the building has issued notice on its last tenant, a local motor repairs business, which could lead to the loss of up to five jobs.

Coun Ossie Johnson, one of the ward members on Derwentside District Council, said: "It is important that we protect the character of the village.

"Lanchester is a rural settlement and there are quite clear limits on development, set down in black and white. We will fight hard to maintain them.

"Any more development on that side of the A691 will have a detrimental impact on the village and further erode the countryside.

"The loss of the motor repairs business will also be a real blow to the village."

Lanchester parish council has also recommended the scheme for refusal, following a packed meeting attended by concerned residents.

Coun David Lindsay, who lives in the village, said: "This site is in an Area of High Landscape Value, in a Conservation Area, in a Wildlife Corridor, and on the wrong side of the bypass from a safety point of view."

He said residents feared it would give developers a foothold on the greenfield sites next to the A691.

"We are fighting this every step of the way - the whole community has risen up against it.

Peter Reynolds, head of development control at the district council, said his team had made a 'positive' response to the developer, but that each application would be dealt with on its own merits.

He said: "Residents are concerned that this is a precursor to a much larger application. But we have to make judgements based only on planning issues and will work through our policy, the same as for any other application."

The application could be tabled at a meeting of the council's development control committee on October 10.