A North-East council has cast doubts on a £120m regeneration project.

Councillor John Williams, leader of Darlington Borough Council, said that Lingfield Investments had so far not sought planning permission for its planned redevelopment of a 125-acre site centred on the former Patons and Baldwins factory, in McMullen Road.

The plans were revealed in The Northern Echo on Saturday.

Coun Williams expressed concern that any retail development on the site could seriously damage the prosperity of the town centre.

He said: "We are concerned that Lingfield's plans for the former Patons and Baldwins site will have a knock-on effect on the vibrant Darlington town centre.

"While it has held initial discussion with the council, it has so far not submitted its full proposals, so this is by no means a done deal.

"Everybody wants to see this site turned into something worthwhile, but there are still a lot of fences to cross. They must speak to the council's planning officials about their proposals and put flesh on the bones of what they want to do.

"While we want to see the area developed in a suitable way, we don't want it to have a knock-on effect on the town centre. We need to know exactly what the retail element of the plans will be."

Lingfield has already invested £16m in Lingfield House, at the centre of the Lingfield Point Complex in McMullen Road. It plans to turn Lingfield Point into a location for manufacturing, warehousing and office accommodation over the next seven years.

Lingfield Point, north of the Yarm Road Industrial Estate, was built in 1945 by wool manufacturing business Patons and Baldwins, now known as Coats Crafts UK.

It and other tenants, uPVC windows manufacturer Jeld-Wen (UK), Circulation Recordings and the Rothmans operations of BAT are situated at the complex.

A spokesman for Lingfield Investments said: "The initial work that has been carried out is on the refurbishment of Lingfield House.

"This is a seven-year scheme that will see £120m invested in total. We wanted to give the people of Darlington a feel for the project.

"The money has been made available for the redevelopment of the Lingfield Point complex and we will be seeking planning permission for the various projects at the appropriate time. We want the council to see that we are committed to this site and the development of the town as a whole."