A DEVELOPER is making a second bid to win permission for a controversial housing scheme.

Miller Homes North-East has submitted a revised planning application to Durham City Council to develop the former Durham County Council's Service Direct depot, in Finchale Road, Newton Hall.

In February, the council's development control committee refused the company's application to build 206 homes on the site, after the boss of a nearby motorcycle training firm objected.

Jimmy Rimmer, of Ace Motorcycle Training, said he feared that if the development went ahead, residents of the homes would complain about the noise his site generates.

This could lead to council environmental health officers putting curbs on the seven-day-a-week operation, that could even force him out of business, he said.

The company proposed measures to try to reduce the noise that some homes on the site would experience, but Mr Rimmer said they would not address the problem.

Miller Homes' new application is for 199 homes - a mix of houses, bungalows and apartments - including some on the motorcycle training centre's land.

It is understood that Miller Homes will offer to help Ace Motorcycle Training, which has been operating for 11 years and trains more than 3,000 riders a year, to relocate to another site, probably outside of the Durham area.

Mr Rimmer, who employs 22 people at the site, said of the offer: "It has worked out well for everyone, really. Rather than building around us, they will incorporate our site in the development.''

He said the developer would help Ace to move, and added that "we have got sites that are coming up'.'

He said: "We have come to an agreement where they can't put in a planning application without consulting me, and I can't sell the land without consulting them."

The developer's application includes details of the provision of affordable homes in the development.

Affordable housing has become a contentious issue in the city, and councillors cited a lack of such housing in the original proposals as one of the reasons for refusal, along with concerns about play area provision and the extra traffic that would be generated.

A spokeswoman for Miller Homes said: "Our revised plan was submitted last month, and has addressed the concerns of the planning committee following the previous refusal."

So far there has been one objection from a resident, concerned about an increase in traffic and the impact on local schools.