PLANS for an eco-village in a North-East town could be blocked because objectors claim it will not be green enough.

Councillors have backed residents who say plans for the environmentally-friendly estate in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, are not sustainable.

Although rumours that the scheme would be a hippy commune or a haven for travellers have been scotched, Great Aycliffe Town Council is to raise strong objections to the planning application.

Developer Aire Design has proposed a 120-house estate on the town's Cobbler's Hall site.

Called Hall Gardens, houses would have solar panels, large south-facing windows and zinc roofs to make them energy efficient.

A feature of the village, the first of its kind in the country, would be a three-storey rotunda for community use, which could be a base for householders to exchange services.

Cobblers Hall residents have raised a number of objections to the proposal. They say plans for "swales" - which collect heavy rainfall and allow it to drain away naturally - will not work because the ground is largely clay.

They fear there is a great potential for accidents because there will be no footpaths and the only traffic-calming measure is a 20mph limit.

Residents attending a council meeting this week said they felt the scheme would be a "blot on the landscape" and out of character with the rest of the estate.

Once Sedgefield Borough Council members left the meeting, the remaining town council members decided to lodge an objection to the proposal.

Committee chairman Councillor John Clare said: "Taken together, what the objectors to this proposal are saying is that by the time you've assembled all these things together this just doesn't work as an eco-village.

"It's an eco-village which is not sustainable as an eco-village. Will this work or will it just turn into some kind of shoddy private housing estate?"

No one from Aire Design was available for comment.