THE organisers of a new theatre workshop for people with learning disabilities have slammed council planners who refused to give the scheme the go-ahead.

Robert Large and Julie Cormack hoped to open the drama club at a unit in Lingfield Way and planned to stage a Christmas pantomime this year, if the bid was successful.

But Darlington Borough Council's planning department vetoed the application for change of use for the site, and now the school is having to use borrowed accommodation at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

"The council says we can't have permission for change of use, but they should have told us before now," said Mr Large, a learning disabilities worker and co-founder of Large Productions.

"They think it's not a suitable location for it, because the development would lead to an increase in car travel but that's ridiculous - we only have two cars.

"The decision left us with a week to find alternative accommodation, which meant we didn't have time to recruit people to join the workshop.

"We won't be able to put on the pantomime now, because we just don't have time."

The centre was to be set up at the Evans Easyspace unit at Lingfield Way - a £3m business centre created to encourage the growth of small companies.

Evans Easyspace managing director Tom Stokes said: "In our view, this is exactly the type of entrepreneurship that the Government wants to encourage.

"It is a community-based small business, which provides training and skills for a specific, often overlooked, sector.

"I am mystified as to why the planning department of Darlington Borough Council has rejected the application as the Evans Easyspace units, which are DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliant, are ideally suited for this purpose."

A borough council spokesman said planners may reconsider the decision.

He said: "We are quite happy to look again at the issues surrounding the planning decision and to discuss it.

"The council's external funding team has been working with Large Productions to help the company find other sources of finance and identified some other community venues that could possibly have been used."

Large Productions is looking for people with learning disabilities who have an interest in acting, singing and other aspects of theatre production. For more information, call Mr Large on 07957-208575