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Teesside collectively rejoiced when Tees Mayor Ben Houchen announced his deal to buy back Durham Tees Valley Airport.

And after the plan was voted through by the Tees Valley Combined Authority last month, ambitious plans have been drawn up, with bold aims to bring in 1.4m passengers.

But what do residents of the small village very close to the airport, think about the scheme?

BBC Local Democracy reporter Alex Metcalfe went to find out.

How long will the peace last?

It's fairly quiet in the shadow of Durham Tees Valley Airport.

But how long will this relative peace last?

Those who live on its doorstep in Middleton St George will notice if flights increase. But how many will actually care remains to be seen.

A few villagers near the soon-to-be renamed Teesside International were bullish about the deal to bring the airport back into public hands.

Gillian Henderson, resident of 40 years, was behind it.

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

Ms Henderson said: "We are hoping it will work. We're right on the doorstep here and it's not good when you have to go all the way to Newcastle or Leeds-Bradford.

"We're all hoping we get some flights again."

And the extra noise?

The retired property manager added: "We're used to planes going over - that's not going to bother us.

"We all want it to happen - we've got enough housing here already."

Housing boom

Leaders at the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) voted to bring the airport back into public ownership last month in a 75/25 split with an operator, understood to be the Stobart Group.

Hooking in a "low-cost carrier" is the aim.

But the agreement also came with a move blocking the building of 350 homes on adjoining airport land.

Middleton St George has been no stranger to housing developments - with a raft of planning applications either approved or in the pipeline, which would take the new home tally in the area well into four figures.

The parish council has had to schedule two meetings a month for almost a year to cope with the sheer demand of business.

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

Cllr Doris Jones, Conservative ward member for Sadberge and Middleton St George, has been both a backer of the airport deal and a critic of the housing boom.

The veteran councillor said she didn't know anybody who'd bought a house in Middleton or Long Newton who hadn't considered they lived next to an airport.

Cllr Jones added: "I don't object to it to be honest. It's four minutes of a plane landing and taking off and then it's gone."

But training flights which used the airstrip for "touch-and-go" landings irked her more.

"If it's a trainee pilot, they shouldn't be doing it over the top of houses - that worries me more," said Cllr Jones.

When it came to housing growth, Cllr Jones said the building had reached a plateau but added the village couldn't take any more houses.

She was against the 350 homes on the airport land and the wider effects the airport's closure could have.

She added: "If it closes, believe you and me, there'll be a town called Durham Tees Valley and what will that do to this village?

"It would be shocking and a far worse scenario."

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

'Forget tribal politics'

Colin Hannant thought it would take a few years to get the airport up and running.

The retired lecturer defied the cold to spend a good ten minutes offering up a piece of his mind near the Havelock Arms.

"If we can make a go of it, it will be good," said Mr Hannant.

"It will be a good thing for the area - as long as we can get more destinations.

"But the trouble is, when a public body takes something over, it doesn't quite work sometimes."

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

The 77-year-old wanted to see politicians "forget tribal politics" and said he'd noticed more low flying aircraft when he lived in Guisborough than Middleton St George.

"It's a small price to pay anyway," he added.

"Houchen is right - the financial people don't come by taxi, they come in through an airport on an aircraft.

"We need a vision - being 77, I've been around the block a time or two and you need to get a vision. Then you define your aims, your plans, procedures and protocols.

"We will never be equal with Newcastle so we need to be splodging around a little bit and making a splash and let them know we're here - I'm sick of everything going to Newcastle."

Noise 'not a bother'

Villager Lynette Lownsbrough came back to the North-east two years ago after living in South Africa.

She hoped it would be a success given she'd used the airport regularly to hop back - and said having to go elsewhere was a real inconvenience.

Noise and fights didn't bother her.

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

Ms Lownsbrough added: "We have KLM flights and pilots coming here to practice - we can sit and watch from our lounge front window, they could be 50, 60 or a hundred, it doesn't make that much difference."

Around the corner lives Clemence McGurk.

The mum-of-one said she was excited about the prospects of the airport given she'd come over to live in England from France.

Ms McGurk added: "I have family living in France so to potentially have an airport which will develop more and get flights to France and other European destinations would be really great."

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

At the moment, she said the only option she had to get back was changing at Amsterdam using KLM.

She had hopes Jet2 could be attracted as an operator.

And noise wasn't even on her radar.

Ms McGurk added: "It would be more noticeable on the other side of Middleton - we cannot hear anything at all here."

What about the parish council?

Parish, town and community council are the lowest tier of local government.

Middleton St George Parish Council didn't have a meeting between the reveal of the 200 page airport plan and the eventual vote to buy it back.

Parish chairwoman Catherine Gilsenan said this meant it couldn't come to an official position on the airport.

"We would've liked to have been able to comment but we were not because of the way it came out," she added.

'Passion and pride'

Liam Stamp was on his way to work when collared for a question.

He said his family used to use the airport when he was younger.

And on the housing situation, the 17-year-old added: "People are going to build houses - you can't please everybody."

Further down Yarm Road is Ellen Gregg who's lived in the village all her life.

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

Ms Gregg's passion for the airport shines through - she didn't want to see it become houses and had fond memories of watching air shows as a child.

She wanted her five-year-old daughter Devon to see the shows come back.

The 47-year-old said: "I can remember when the airport was busy - it would be great to fly from here again.

"When I was growing up we used to see thousands of people walking from Darlington through the village to go to the air show - I used to sit on my dad's shoulders and watch the Red Arrows. It was amazing.

"There is so much history to it and it would be great to get that back."

(Image: Evening Gazette)

Teesside Airport used to host a regular air show in the 1970s and 1980s, but they ended in 1989.

It was reborn as the Skylive festival in 2016 and 2017 - but was scrapped for 2018.

Ms Gregg said her aunt Barbara used to fly into Teesside from Dublin and she'd use it again if she had the chance.

The mother-of-two added: "I would hate to see it go back to being houses because we are stretched as it is.

"I'm proud of it's past, they were brilliant days."

'It's odd a little village is shouting let's have more airport'

Questions came about how the village would react to noise increases at a TVCA overview and scrutiny meeting this year.

Darlington Council leader Stephen Harker was interested how things would play out in the village now the airport deal was done.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Cllr Harker said: "It's odd that you have a little village and an airport and they're shouting let's have more airport, because if I was living there I would wonder if it was the right thing to say.

"But I think, despite the fact they live on top of the airport, they are from the area, they really believe in it and want it to be as successful as I do - and I live some distance away.

"That said, there are questions about how you run the airport and how you make the people living nearby aren't adversely affected by it - some of that is in the detail of what we need to do.

"It's been an issue in the past and it has been managed in the past - that will have to continue about what flights we get there and when they run.

"We have to be mindful there is a relatively large village nearby and people trying to have a peaceful life - that's something we need to tackle.

"But I'd imagine most people in the village want that airport because they will benefit from it - despite the fact they live on top of it."

An official handover of the airport to the TVCA is expected this month.