Plans to build more than 105 homes near a County Durham village have been rejected by councillors.

Proposals for up to 105 houses on land at Crookgate Bank, off Barcusclose Lane, near Burnopfield were thrown out by Durham County Council’s County Planning Committee on Tuesday.

The outline application had suggested a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced properties, as well as bungalows, with between two and five bedrooms.

It was supported by 17 letters of support from members of the public, who said it would address a “lack of suitable homes in the area”.

But councillors chose to side with the 18 objections sent to the council, as well as the council’s own planning department, which argued building would cause “substantial and inappropriate incursion into the countryside”.

Cllr John Clare said: “The officer is correct, if you were to build here it would be visible for miles around and would represent an unsatisfactory intrusion into the countryside.

“This is the wrong location for such housing.”