THE owners of Darlington's Queen Street centre are helping the council with its idea of a new shopping complex in the town centre.

The St Martins property company has agreed to examine the feasibility of developing the Commercial Street site to attract more shoppers in competition with other areas.

Mr John Buxton, director of development, told Tuesday's cabinet meeting: "Any new development must be of a scale and quality to create a leap in the nature of what the town centre has to offer."

Coun John Williams, council leader, said later: "This project is at a very early stage. St Martins and the council are the two major landowners in this part of the town centre, so it makes sense for us to work together on a scheme we hope will be an asset to Darlington by bringing in more business. Our work at this stage is simply to assess whether the project is feasible"

Mr Lindsey Robinson, head of development at St Martins, added: "We have owned Queen Street for more than 20 years during which time it has proved to be a popular and profitable centre. Our research suggests there is demand for bigger and better retail space in Darlington."

Rail change

HAMBLETON councillors yesterday agreed in principle with a suggestion by the Council for the Protection of Rural England that the Northallerton to Teesside railway line should join and leave the main East Coast route at a new point north of Northallerton to tackle traffic congestion at three level crossings in the town