PLANS to remove Victorian features from High Row in Darlington as part of a pedestrianisation plan have sparked fury among conservationists.

Darlington Civic Trust claims the borough council's decision to get rid of the granite steps, iron railings, retaining walls and balustrades, which date back to the turn of the 20th Century, will destroy the town centre conservation area.

But the authority was last night (Thurs) defiant about the pedestrianisation plan, saying it was designed in consultation with English Heritage, which welcomed the "improvements".

The plan, devised by contractors Gillespies, will mean there are no longer three levels between the shops on High Row and the covered market - for the first time since 1898.

The granite steps will be demolished to make way for one set of steps and the other distinctive ornamental features are likely to be used somewhere else in the town centre.

Trust secretary Jenny Leeming said the Victorian features were as much a part of Darlington's heritage as the Clock Tower and covered market.

"Whose interests and what purpose will be served by these contemporary proposals?" she said.

"High Row forms the focus of the town centre conservation area, designated in 1975. It is of immense historical importance to Darlington and its townscape.

"The trust is not opposed to change but, if conservation policy is to have any meaning at all, changes must respect the special character of High Row."

Trust vice-chairman Clive Owen said the council had not been open about its plan to remove the features.

"Alarm bells started ringing when we discovered what was planned," he said. "We don't think many people realise. It's not been mentioned by the council or by Gillespies."

A council spokesman said: "English Heritage, the guardians of the historic environment, agreed this was work that desperately needed to be carried out.

"We have worked very closely with both them and Gillespies, who have got a national reputation for design in conservation areas."

He added that the changes would improve access to High Row for disabled people.

"The steps along High Row are in many ways hazardous and won't comply with modern standards," he said.