PLANS to build 12 houses on a heritage site have been refused, following concerns that they would spoil the character of the area.

Roker Developments recently applied to Easington District Council for permission to demolish buildings at the former Essyn House, in Easington Village, and replace them with 12 properties.

The application followed an earlier request by the firm to build nine properties on the site of a former residential home.

English Heritage, Durham County Council and Easington District Council officers objected to the plans.

Under the amended scheme, Roker Developments proposed that the four-bedroomed properties would be built from traditional materials to help them blend in with the conservation area.

It also offered to contribute £6,000 to compensate for the loss of a play area.

But critics including Easington Village Parish Council, English Heritage and people living in the area continued to oppose the development.

They said it would detract from the setting of the nearby Grade I-listed Seaton Holme building and the Grade I-listed St Mary's Church opposite the site.

Concerns were also raised that the development would cause traffic problems and put pressure on local services, and that the homes' occupants would suffer from noise and smells from a nearby farm and pub.

Easington Village Parish Council said it would prefer a development of no more than nine types of property that were more in keeping with the area.

A report prepared for members of the district council's development control and licensing panel, who met to resolve the issue, said: "It is considered that the amended proposals are acceptable, including principally having regard to the impact upon the setting of Seaton Holme and the character of Easington Village conservation area."

But councillors rejected the report's advice and refused the application, on the grounds that it would have a negative impact on the area and that prospective residents would suffer from noise and disturbance.