COUNCILLORS have hit back at criticism over their handling of a new supermarket development during a special finance meeting.

Members of Teesdale District Council answered their critics during a meeting to discuss a draft statement of accounts for the last financial year.

The meeting revealed that, out of a revenue budget of just under £3m, the council had only overspent by £1,458, or 0.05 per cent.

Chairing the meeting, Councillor Newton Wood said: "This is an exceptional achievement - it shows we're running a tight ship and that the authority is being run extremely efficiently and effectively.

"This is particularly gratifying in a year when the council has faced criticism."

His comments were echoed by the council's chief executive, Charles Anderson, who has taken the brunt of criticism from the public and the press. He said: "I think much of this criticism has been wholly unjustified."

The council came under a fire after talks over a multi-million pound Safeway development in Barnard Castle collapsed last year.

Talks between the parties have reopened.