PLANS to demolish a bungalow and replace it with five detached houses would be detrimental to a conservation area, it has been warned.

Darlington Borough Council's planning committee granted permission for the five-bedroom homes to be built on land at Middleton Lane, Middleton St George, last month.

On Wednesday, it signalled the go-ahead for a bungalow on the site to be demolished, despite objectors' concerns.

Resident Chris Burns said: "The removal of the existing property, to be replaced with the larger properties isn't in keeping with the conservation area."

The village's borough councillor, Doris Jones, who has long warned of the overdevelopment of the area, said: "The village has become a brick and concrete tide which is sweeping this village. I've said it all before and it falls on deaf ears."