A PARISH council has launched a fresh appeal to stop the construction of almost 200 homes in its village.

Middleton St George Parish Council has submitted an objection letter to Darlington Borough Council’s planning department in relation to amended plans to build 198 homes on land off High Stell.

Outline planning permission was initially granted in February 2016, but the parish council says it still “strongly objects” to the amended plans.

In the letter, Alan Macnab, Middleton St George Parish Council clerk, said: “The local planning authority should be enabled to pay full attention to the strength of local feeling against this development where it is expressed on rational grounds.

“There is no realistic prospect of creating any robust long-term traffic management in the village centre. Rather, it will get progressively worse due to the fact that more planning permissions have been granted.

“It may be that, as stated in the transport assessment at the outline planning stage, there is little evidence of accidents having occurred in the past, but the traffic movement associated with a further 198 homes which have to enter and exit through two pinch points will inevitably increase risk.

“Middleton St George cannot be regarded as sustainable, and consequently should not be expected to take on the number of houses targeted for the village.”

Tempers flared when the outline plans were approved at a meeting of the council's planning committee in 2016, with cries of “shame on you” from residents and loud booing around the room.

Earlier this month, Middleton St George ward councillor Doris Jones warned the village is on the brink of turning into a “small town” after yet more plans for hundreds of new homes were submitted.

Outline plans have been submitted for 430 new homes in the village along with three new shops and provision for a new primary school on land close to the Oak Tree pub.

A full application has also been submitted for 63 new homes, also on land close to the Oak Tree.

The plans, which cover about 21 hectares of land, come just months after councillors on Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee warned the village was at “full capacity”, and it was time to “put the brakes on” development.

Cllr Jones said: “Middleton St George has reached saturation point – it is no longer a small village, it is now a small town.

“There are plenty of brownfield sites that would be suitable locations for a new school.”