VILLAGERS fighting plans to build homes on a playing field are to have talks with council officials behind the scheme.

People at Ushaw Moor are campaigning against proposals for 200 houses on the field near High View which, they say, was bequeathed to the village in perpetuity as recreation land.

The development would form part of a Single Regeneration Budget scheme, led by Durham City Council, to breathe new life into the village, and nearby Bearpark and New Brancepeth.

About 350 people have signed a petition calling for the playing field to be saved amid concern that the development will leave youngsters with nowhere to go.

Now the city council is offering talks with officials about the regeneration scheme and playing field development.

Campaign spokeswoman Elizabeth Waghorn said: "We want answers to all the questions we have got.

"We have spoken to experts, people knowledgeable in planning and legal circles, and they have told us the things we should be asking, particularly about the provenance of the land.

"We have seen nothing that convinces us these houses are necessary or will be good for the people in Ushaw Moor - as there are many empty houses here."

The campaigners have lodged a claim with the council to have the field designated a village green, which would prevent development.

The council says that the housing will help fund the regeneration scheme, which will include environmental improvements. It also maintains that it does not want to foist an unwanted scheme on people.