A COMPANY that has held weekly markets for three months has been warned to stop the events or face legal action.

Nobles Promotions has been holding indoor Sunday markets and tabletop fairs on Greenland Industrial Estate, in Spennymoor, without permission since last October.

The Peterlee firm applied to Sedgefield Borough Council for planning permission to use part of the Rothman's Business Centre for markets between October 2004 and March 2005.

Nobles wanted to provide indoor space for about 100 stall holders and attract hundreds of shoppers to the events.

Last week, the council's development control committee refused the application because of traffic and parking problems caused by shoppers.

Spennymoor Town Council, neighbouring businesses and Durham County Council's highways engineers all objected to the proposal. They said visitors to previous events had ignored a 356 space car park on site and blocked access routes to neighbouring factories by leaving their vehicles by the roadside.

A Sedgefield Borough Council spokesman said: "We take breaches of planning control extremely seriously and have told the car boot operator to stop trading.

"If this does not happen, we will consider enforcement options to end the car boot sales."

Yet the company insists this weekend's market will go ahead as planned because it has already been widely advertised to traders and visitors and features on its website.

Boss John Noble was unable to comment further last night.

Last week's application was Nobles' second attempt to officially secure the site as a market venue.

The decision had to be deferred by councillors in December last year because the company objected to the original public consultation exercise.

It said consultees were given the impression that consent was sought for events throughout the year and not for the six months, between October last year to March this year, it actually wanted.

Despite the fresh round of consultation, objectors reiterated their original concerns.

The county council said the area should be protected as a prestige employment site and that retail could discourage new manufacturing enterprises or hinder neighbouring operations.