HUNDREDS have signed a petition calling for an 'eyesore' cattle market to be moved from its town centre site to a more appropriate location.

Calls for Darlington Auction Mart to be relocated from its Clifton Road headquarters have surfaced periodically in recent decades.

All previous efforts to move the business out-of-town have fallen by the wayside, but there is now a renewed determination to achieve what has previously proved impossible.

The death of 15-year-old Kyle Hull, who fell through a roof at the market in April, has forced the issue into the spotlight once more.

More than 740 people have signed an online petition calling for the mart to be moved, while hundreds of residents of nearby streets have displayed flyers in their windows.

In a statement, the board of directors of Darlington Farmers' Auction Mart (DFAM), which runs the market, stated its commitment to moving.

A public meeting on the issue last month, organised by Mrs Chapman, heard that DFAM is in renewed negotiations with Darlington Borough Council over the move.

DFAM's statement said: "Following the recent public meeting chaired by Jenny Chapman regarding the relocation of the mart, the directors of DFAM want to make the current position clear to all concerned parties and individuals.

"The directors, employees, shareholders and customers of DFAM have the desire to move and are fully committed to moving the mart to Humbleton Farm, away from the centre of town, and have been for many years.

The directors of DFAM and the council are working very closely together with an aim to commence development in the autumn of this year at Humbleton Farm, on the A68 to the north west of the town.

"This land was purchased by DFAM in 2007 for this aim and in order to move the business out of the centre of town.

"The full cost of the development will be in the region of £6m.

DFAM will vacate the council-owed Clifton road site and remove the buildings so DBC will be able to maximise value for the site – circa £1.5m.

DFAM is conscious the town has developed around the business and are taking further steps to limit access to the site.

Once the development commences, employment opportunities will be brought into the county, which should be welcomed by all."

The public meeting heard that DFAM plans to sell a plot of land it owns in Neasham Road, next to The Northern Echo Arena, to be used for a housing development, which will provide part of the funding for the relocation project.