AN MP who has supported residents’ in their fight against multiple housing developments in a North East village is delivering their petition to Westminster.

Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson will take the petition signed by more than 1,000 Middleton St George residents to Parliament next week and present it in the chamber.

The village, in the borough of Darlington, has seen repeated development proposals lodged in recent years but residents say that any more houses will overwhelm the existing infrastructure and ruin the character of the area.

Mr Wilson, who has already met with Communities and Local Government under secretary Stephen Williams to discuss the matter, believes it is important for local communities to have their voice heard.

He said: “I will present it in the chamber Tuesday or Wednesday next week so we can get it on the record and the minister would then have to respond to the petition.

“It is just another way of requiring the government to look at the fact that there is a neighbourhood plan being drawn up while at the same time there seems to be an awful lot of planning applications that are going in.

“I can understand people in Middleton St George feeling inundated with what is going on.”

The petition was spearheaded by campaigners Christine Thornley and Melissa Lane, chair of Middleton St George community association, who said they were delighted with the response from residents.

In the meantime, ward councillors are continuing their work on a neighbourhood plan for the village which should protect it from unsustainable future developments.