A POPULAR town centre restaurant has been told it must install toilets for the disabled if it wants to expand.

Darlington Borough Council's planning committee gave permission for the Tapas Bar, in Bondgate, to extend into the shop next door, a former nail bar, on the condition that ground floor toilets are created.

However, the owner of the Tapas Bar, Peter Turnbull, has said it is impractical to install the toilets for disabled people because of the size and age of the shop.

At present, all the toilets are on the first floor.

He said that other recently opened bars and restaurants did not have a condition regarding disabled toilets as part of their planning permission.

He said: "The first thing we looked at was disabled toilets.

In this case it's just not possible."

However, Gordon Pybus, the chairman of Darlington Association on Disability, argued that the council should impose the condition.

He said: "There's going to be all this new area but anyone in a wheelchair can't go upstairs and can't go to the toilet.

"That's why it's really important that this condition is imposed."