THE latest episode in a long-running saga surrounding a £15m supermarket development has hit fresh controversy - over the secrecy surrounding its trolleys.

A bitter year-long row between Safeway and Teesdale District Council was finally resolved in December, when a deal was agreed over the price of a key strip of land needed to build a store in Barnard Castle.

Work on the store was expected to start soon, but old wounds were reopened this week when it was decided to discuss plans for two trolley bays behind closed doors.

Councillors had already approved plans for trolley bays in the council-owned car park next to the supermarket - but a majority of councillors at Wednesday's community services committee meeting voted to discuss the details of traffic management and licensing at a closed meeting.

Councillor John Watson said the meeting should be open to the public.

He said: "I agree that the licensing and charge aspect of the issue should, quite rightly, be handled by a closed session.

"However, we would be making history if we were to go behind closed doors to discuss traffic management.

"There is great interest from people who live close to this site.

"To take it behind closed doors is simply reopening old wounds."

Members voted that it would be difficult to discuss the issue of traffic management without revealing commercially sensitive information, and gave the detail the go-ahead behind closed doors.

Chief executive Charles Anderson said: "It seems to me the traffic management part of this is a minuscule part of what we are trying to consider, unless you are saying that trolley management and traffic management are the same, which I don't think they are."

Councillor Ken Coates said: "This should really be exempt. We have got to take the safe way out."