COUNCILLORS have been accused of jeopardising the livelihoods of local traders after approving plans for a convenience store for a major supermarket chain.

Tesco, which has three stores in nearby Durham City and one in Chester-le-Street, will operate the store in Front Street, Sacriston, that will be built and leased to it by Warrior Developments.

The scheme can go ahead once the developer has paid up the £12,000 it offered to move the village's war memorial from the development site to the nearby Heart of the Village scheme.

The scheme was approved, on the recommendation of planning officers, by the area planning committee of Labour-run Durham County Council.

Councillors heard there were 18 objectors, including the parish council and Durham North Labour MP Kevan Jones whose constituency office is in Sacriston. There was also a 330-name petition against the scheme.

There were eight letters of support for the steel-clad building.

The main thrust of the objections was the threat the retail giant poses to small traders in the former pit community, which has undergone considerable regeneration in recent years.

Anne Wright, one of the village's two councillors, said Sacriston had a good variety of shops including a Co-op, a butcher, a greengrocer and even one of the few wet fish shops in the county.

She said the development would take a valuable piece of green space from the centre of the village and that it would add nothing new to the village's retail offer.

Stephen Sanderson, who runs the Village Store with his wife Jill, warned that existing traders would be threatened by the scheme and the result could be boarded up shops in Front Street.

He said that 12 jobs could be created by the store but research had shown that where a supermarket chain moved in 150 existing jobs were lost for every 100 created.

Mike Stone, agent for the developer, said the store would regenerate the site, provide choice for low income shoppers and reduce travel to other stores.

Joe Armstrong, councillor for Esh, said that there were grounds the council could use under planning law for rejecting the development.

Afterwards Mr Sanderson said: that the committee had "condemned'' the businesses of Sacriston.

"Sacriston will have a Tesco but it will have a lot of boarded up shops.

"Trying to make a living as a small businessman is difficult, trying to do it with Tesco outside your front door is impossible.''