NEARLY 40 houses on a troubled Chester-le-Street council estate are to be bulldozed to make way for a new private development.

Residents on The Brooms estate, in Ouston, had feared that up to 122 homes could be demolished after plans for the development were announced in April.

Always the most likely option out of four given to households, the decision to demolish 38 houses at the north end of the estate was generally welcomed by fed-up residents.

The other options include bulldozing progressively more of the area.

Chester-le-Street District Council chiefs say they will give existing tenants top priority for rehousing.

Although residents are worried about the families who will have to be rehoused, they believe a private estate would help increase house prices and clear up the area. Council bosses said the social deprivation and neglect by some of the tenants persuaded them to sell off the worst stock.

In recent years, the Brooms' reputation has taken a battering. In 1995, Maxine Robinson, who lived on the estate, was given a life sentence for murdering her two children.

The following year, a police constable was stabbed in the leg after a siege on the estate.

Dr Mike Newton, spokes-man for the Four As Residents' Association, which represents people in adjoining streets Abernethy, Atholl, Angus and Alford, said the council had chosen the "easy" option.

He said: "They are looking for a solution to a problem and were probably hoping to get this through without many people finding out. If the full council ratify this decision we want absolute involvement and open dialogue with them.

"Don't get us wrong - we are certainly not against the development of the Brooms. We simply want to be involved in all aspects of planning that affect us."

A council spokeswoman said the executive committee chose the least wide-ranging option after it proved to be the most popular with residents.

Responding to recent criticism about a lack of public consultation, she said: "We made residents aware of the decision straight away. We have given existing tenants priority for rehousing elsewhere."

The executive's decision is yet to be ratified by the full council.