VILLAGERS fighting a controversial housing development have hand-delivered a plea for councillors to refuse planning permission.

Members of the West Rainton Parish Housing Action Group posted letters through the doors of all 49 Durham City Council members yesterday.

The letters call on the council's development control committee to refuse an application to build 193 executive homes on the outskirts of the village.

Action group spokeswoman Lesley King said: "This is a contentious and controversial issue.

We believe it is imperative that all councillors, not just those on the development control committee, are made aware of the strength of feeling and the strength of argument against this development.

"This housing development goes beyond the boundary of the village and the developers have already registered an interest in land to the north of where the development would take place.

"We are concerned it would be the thin end of the wedge if this goes ahead. There is no shortage of housing in the Durham area.

"If there is a need for housing then it is for people on lower incomes, not for houses in the £100,000 to £150,000 bracket.''

Durham County Council last year approved plans by developers Wimpey Homes and Bryant Homes to install a traffic light junction from the busy A690 to the development.

The council backed the idea even though a planning inspector recommended that a staggered junction be built when the development was first proposed ten years ago.

Villagers fear lights will pose a safety hazard, but the council - which will get £500,000 "planning gain'' from the developers towards a park-and-ride interchange - decided lights would be safe.

Villagers now hope that their arguments against the proposed housing development will win favour with the city council.

Mrs King said: "We'll be pointing out that the Government's new planning policy guidance says that planning authorities should develop a shared vision, with local communities, of the types of developments they would like.

"We also support the policy that developers should be building on brownfield sites or in centres.''

City councillors are expected to consider the application in the next month or so