TRADERS have voiced concerns after discovering a council has been asked to consider a plan that would see the town hall demolished to make way for a supermarket.

The controversial idea is among a number of options put before Darlington borough councillors this week following an approach from an unnamed developer seeking to build a 4,000sq metre supermarket.

Last night, council chiefs said that the plans were at a very early stage and that demolishing the town hall was only one option.

Councillor Chris McKeown, the council’s cabinet member for economy and regeneration, said the proposals offered a chance to create a vibrant and thriving town centre economy for Darlington.

He urged people to be positive.

The authority has promised full consultation with individuals and businesses early this summer, but town centre traders say they are already planning to fight the proposal.

Ada Burns, the council’s chief executive, said the authority was duty bound to consider plans for a small supermarket in the town centre.

She argued that a possible alternative – a large hypermarket on the outskirts of Darlington – would be far worse for town centre traders.

She said: “This is a complex issue and we need to do the right thing for the town centre.

The council has a great record of protecting the town centre.”

A report, which has been obtained by The Northern Echo, was presented to members of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, outlining three initial options – two of which involve knocking down the town hall and moving staff elsewhere to allow the new supermarket to be built.

The other option would consider allowing a supermarket to be built on Garden Street car park, behind Northgate, which was the site suggested by the developer in its approach to the council.

Independent traders in the town said they are prepared to mobilise against any plan to build a supermarket in the town centre.

Robin Blair, of the Darlington Retail Market Stalls Association, said: “We would campaign strongly against any supermarket being built in the town centre. We would not sit back and let it happen.”

The proposed size of any new supermarket would be about half the original size of the town’s Sainsbury’s store, in Victoria Road, which is presently being extended.

A previous plan to build a much larger Tesco superstore on the site of the town hall in 2006 sparked a huge wave of protest in the town.