PLANS to build two large retail warehouses on the Willowbeck Road site in Northallerton were recommended for approval yesterday.

The application by Wm Morrison Supermarkets for the two 20,000sq ft non-food retail units was recommended for permission by planning officers at a meeting of Hambleton District Council development control committee.

The warehouses will sell electrical and household goods, furniture and floor coverings, car accessories and bicycles, which developers argue will enhance Northallerton as a shopping destination.

As well as the two retail units, the development will also provide 150 car parking spaces for customers and 37 for staff cars.

Unit operators will not be permitted to sell food, DIY and hardware, clothing, perfume and toiletries, books, stationery, computer software, or music and videos. No users have yet been identified for the warehouses.

The development will be on a 4.21 acre site, which is made up of separate parcels of land.

The land is all owned by Morrison's and includes the sites of a former carpet warehouse and snooker club, since demolished, a former DIY store and rough open ground.

In a study, Morrison's has said the units would improve availability in Northallerton for non-food durable goods.

A spokesman said: "This will assist in the retention of trade within Northallerton and will reduce car journeys to other surrounding high-order centres offering high quality retail warehouse facilities, such as Darlington, Stockton and Middlesbrough.

"The proposal will therefore offer sustainability benefits arising through a reduction in car journeys. While the occupiers of the scheme are yet to be determined, we have identified considerable retailer demand for floor space in Northallerton."

Northallerton Town Council has also asked that the development is approved.

Hambleton Council's head of development control, Maurice Cann, said that because the development was for bulky goods shops, which would generate regular but infrequent shopping trips, it was suitable for a location outside the town centre.

He said: "Defined as an edge-of-centre site, the development will enhance the position of Northallerton in the retailing hierarchy. As a consequence, there will be a reduction in trips to adjoining shopping centres."

* For a full report, see next week's D&S Times