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Builders Bellway Durham will construct the properties at Hedworth’s Green at Lambton Park, on the 1,200 acre Lambton Estate in Chester-le-Street.

The estate is the ancestral seat of the Earls of Durham and home to Biddick Hall and Lambton Castle, which date back to the 18th and 19th centuries respectively.

The plans for the development, just off the A183 Chester Road, have been approved by Durham County Council. In 2016 outline planning permission was granted for the site for around 400 new homes, alongside retail and office space and community facilities.

Work has begun on new housing at Hedworths Green in Lambton. Pictured are Bellway’s Chris Norlund and Louise Eggerton.

The development will feature a range of two-bedroom apartments and three, four and five-bedroom houses, alongside public open space including a village green with a traditional style butter cross.

Residents will be eight miles from Sunderland city centre, with buses every 30 minutes.

Jon Horan, managing director of Bellway Durham, said: “We have worked incredibly hard on this project with the Lambton Park team to bring forward their vision for this phase of the development.

“Centred around a large village green, the scheme delivers much-needed new housing and reflects the historic surroundings of Lambton Park.

Work has begun on new housing at Hedworths Green in Lambton. Pictured are Bellway’s Louise Eggerton and Chris Norlund.

“Residents, who will get to live in an incredibly desirable location, will witness the restoration of an historic site first-hand with an ongoing programme bringing key features of the park into sustainable new uses.

“Homebuyers will also be able to make use of the eight miles of public footpaths on the estate to explore the nature, landscape and heritage of the area.”

Another house builder, Miller Homes, has also been building properties there in recent times.

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The site of the new homes was that of Lambton Lion Park. This picture was taken in 1977.

In the 1970s it the site was given a new lease of life as Lambton Lion Park and became hugely popular with visitors who would come to marvel at the lions, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, zebra, camels and more.

The park opened in 1972 and closed in 1980, but is still very fondly remembered today. Since the park’s closure, the estate was rarely used for decades, apart from charity runs, special events, clay pigeon shooting and filming projects.

Another 145 new homes to be built on former Lambton Lion Park on Earl of Durham's estate