PLANS for a private gypsy site have been refused by planning officials.

The application included plans for two two mobile homes, two touring caravans and an amenity building on land at Aycliffe Lane, in Brafferton, on the outskirts of Darlington.

Planning officers from Darlington Borough Council have rejected the application under delegated powers.

The plans attracted four complaints from nearby residents, as well as the parish council, who said the site would be an eyesore in an attractive rural area.

Objectors also said the site would have a detrimental impact on the character of the countryside; the increase in traffic would be dangerous on the busy narrow lanes nearby, and that approving the application would set a precedent for more to follow.

A letter from the council to Northallerton Draughting Services, acting on behalf of the applicant, David Ward, said: “The proposed development, by virtue of its form and scale will result in a visually intrusive feature within an open rural countryside location."

The authority said the site would dominate the character of the rural landscape, and that it did not consider the requirement to provide gypsy sites within the borough outweighed the negative impact the development would have on the area.