A RADICAL overhaul of taxi ranks, as part of a controversial scheme to make Darlington town centre traffic-free, could be agreed by council chiefs next week.

Darlington Borough Council is pressing ahead with work on its £6.5m Pedestrian Heart project, with major changes to the transport system having already been made.

And cabinet members are due to meet on Tuesday to consider plans for a shake-up of hackney carriage stand locations.

The proposals are likely to create further tensions between the authority and cabbies, who have staged strikes and protests in recent weeks to demonstrate their anger at developments.

Drivers have called for the right to use some bus lanes, more rank space in the town centre and a direct telephone line to the police.

Darlington Hackney/Private Hire Association believes the council's plans are severely harming trade.

The proposals going before the cabinet show the overall capacity of taxi ranks increasing by one vehicle during the daytime and by 39 on evenings.

New stands would be created in Coniscliffe Road, Duke Street and Grange Road, providing an extra 38 spaces in total.

Round-the-clock ranks would be available at Grange Road, Feethams, Priestgate and Victoria Road.

But vehicles would be lost from some parts of the town centre - Blackwellgate, East Street and Tubwell Row.

The council has also rejected cabbies' requests for a rank on Northgate, outside Woolworths, and an extension of the Priestgate rank down to the Cornmill bridge.

A request for an eight-car stand in East Row, to operate 24 hours a day, is under consideration.

In a report to the cabinet, development director John Buxton says: "The public consultation for the pedestrian heart undertaken by our consultant partners contained the proposals for revised stand locations.

"Officers have subsequently held informal meetings with the taxi trade to discuss the proposed changes in more detail and the reasoning for locating new stands and revoking or amending existing stands.

"The proposed locations reflect the need to have stands reasonably close to commercial areas whilst, at the same time, taking account of road safety requirements."

Cabinet members have been urged to agree that the proposed changes be publicly advertised to allow the public to have its say.

Council officers are also recommending that the Chief Constable of Durham Police be made aware of the plans.