PLANS to increase the number of car parking spaces in Darlington town centre could be at risk following the sale of the Cornmill shopping centre.

The centre was sold this week for just under £50m, and the unnamed owner has yet to meet centre bosses to discuss its plans.

In November, Darlington Borough Council agreed to a plan to add another level to the centre's Crown Street car park, which would have created 139 spaces.

Cornmill manager Albion Small said last night that he had had a brief meeting with property management company, Jones Lang LaSalle, which will now look after the centre.

He said: "I don't know what their plans are. We will have a full meeting in the week commencing February 17, when the car park will be at the top of the agenda."

Councillor Sheila Brown, who has campaigned for 20 years for a multi-storey car park for the Cornmill centre, said she hoped the plans would not change.

"I think it will survive," she said. "I think it will still be on the books. The Cornmill centre is the only shopping centre we have in Darlington of any substance."

The 173,000sq ft centre, which houses 51 businesses and attracts shoppers from all over the North-East, has been sold by Reit Asset Management, which bought it in May 2001.

Mr Small said: "It has been in the offing for a while. The amount it sold for was a surprise to me. I did not think it would be as high as that.

"But it shows how successful the centre is. They are obviously very happy to buy it for that."