A SIXTH-FORM college has pulled out of a £25m town centre redevelopment plan.
Bede College, Billingham, has decided it cannot wait indefinitely for plans to build community facilities on John Whitehead Park, near the town centre.
The college's decision is a setback for the town's traders, who were dealt a blow when the Stockton and Billingham College relocated to the Teesdale site, in Thornaby.
Putting a brave face on the news, Billingham Partnership Board chairman Kevin Pitt said: "Taking into account the timescale involved in trying to develop the Billingham Gateway project and the necessity for Bede College to protect its development within the community, the Billingham Partnership Board fully understands the necessity for Bede College to progress to alternative plans to those in the Gateway project.
"The new plan proposed by Bede College enhances the concept of an educational learning campus within Billingham and fully utilises existing educational amenities on the campus site."
He said Bede's decision does not jeopardise the Gateway project, although it means the loss of a proposed community theatre - a replacement for the Billingham Forum which is to make way for a supermarket - and a loss of trade for retailers.
He said: "The fact that Bede College, due to delays caused by community objections, has had to develop plans which will create a loss of facilities and trade within the town, should send a clear message to the people of Billingham. If the Gateway project does not move forward, we will lose available funding for any development and we will see further degeneration of the Forum and the town centre, with a significant loss of facilities to the town.
Fred Jones, spokesman for the Community Network, representing those opposed to plans to build in the park, said: "The partnership board has lost all credibility."
He called on Mr Pitt and his team to consult with townspeople on plans to build a health centre, library and one- stop shop in the park.
"This is not what the residents want and we will continue to fight," he said
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