Deputy prime minister John Prescott has stepped on the toes of a local authority by calling in a housing development the council had approved.
The public inquiry will centre on concerns expressed by residents of Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, over housebuilder Bellway’s plans to build 275 homes on greenbelt land.

The scheme was to have involved Home Housing Association taking responsibility for the management of 44 affordable homes.

In a letter to Blyth Valley Council, Jim Darlington, of the government office for the North-east, explained that Prescott had broader concerns about the use of greenbelt land for relatively low-density housing schemes.

In addition to homes, the scheme would also provide a large retail unit, bus-turning facilities and a hectare of recreational land.