DISABLED and older people say a lack of seating at a city shopping centre is making it difficult to use.

The outside seating at the Arnison Centre, in Pity Me, Durham, was removed as part of a major expansion in 2016 but has not been replaced.

Members of the Durham City Access Group, along with local councillors who have been contacted by residents about the issue, have been requesting the benches are replaced for around 18 months.

Councillor Mark Wilkes said: “There’s no seating between Asda Living and M&S because they took it out.

“Eighteen months later there’s still no seating anywhere at all and it’s now really difficult. I’ve had a lot of people get in touch with me about it.”

It is several hundred metres from one end of the centre to the other.

Barry Gower, secretary of the access group, said the issue had been raised at all of its meetings for the last year.

He said: “It’s people with limited mobility who have real problems. People who are using walking frames have great difficulty in using the centre.

“We have several members who don’t use wheelchairs but have limited mobility and have great difficulty getting from one end to another.

“They’re saying we need help in using the facilities at the Arnison Centre.”

Cllr Amanda Hopgood added: “We’ve got an ageing population. For some older people who might use a stick to walk that far is quite a task.”

A spokesperson for Sovereign Centros, which owns the centre, said: “Over the last few years we have made a significant investment in the park through improvements to parking, the appearance of the retail units and the overall shopping environment.

“This has attracted new and exciting brands to the park, the latest of which, JD, opens very soon.

“We continue to look at ways of improving the environment for shoppers which includes external seating.

“We expect to make a decision on this shortly.”