SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has announced another major development in a North-East town.

It plans to open an environment-friendly store in Peterlee, County Durham, hot on the heels of proposals announced for a store at Stanley, also in the county, and a call centre for its banking arm in Newcastle.

Stanley and Peterlee have well-established Asda supermarkets that are big employers.

Tesco says the Peterlee development, on the former East Durham College site in Burnhope Way, will create 400 part and full-time jobs.

The site contains the town's library and the firm says it will replace it if Durham County Council, which is responsible for library provision, grants planning permission.

The 80,000 sq ft Peterlee store would be built above a 500-space ground floor car park and would be linked by Travelators, moving pavements.

It would be an "Eco-store'', designed to reduce the huge company's carbon footprint, and include larch cladding and energy efficiency measures including a combined heat and power unit to generate energy and roof ventilators to allow natural airflow.

Tesco's corporate affairs manager Doug Wilson claimed the store would "revitalise the town centre and provide shoppers with competition''.

Public consultation sessions on the plan will be held in the existing library in Burnhope Way on Tuesday (3 November) from 2 to 7pm, Wednesday (4 November) from 10am to 4pm, and on Thursday (5 November) from 2 to 7pm.

The company says the call centre would employ 1,000 and the Stanley store and one in Consett - the latter is due to be considered soon by county planning councillors - would employ 400 each.