THE tentative plans to demolish and build a new town hall in Darlington, along with a supermarket and housing, are a good measure of the high stakes in Britain's long running store wars.

For the market leader Tesco future growth in this country depends on schemes like these. There are few towns not served by the giant retailer and there are few out-of town sites - the easiest and cheapest development option - to build new stores on.

It may all be to the town's benefit. Feethams has for a long time been a dreadful eyesore in the very centre of the town. Some people believe the Sixties-built town hall has been an eyesore for even longer. Few, we suspect, would lament its passing.

Should Tesco come up with a firm proposal, there will be a debate about the potential impact on town centre retailers. Current thinking is that town-centre supermarkets draw trade in and are thus preferable to out-of-town supermarkets.

That could well be the case in Darlington where, apart from the covered market, there are few food retailers left anyway.

Arguments about what a new town hall should look like could be rather more interesting. Certainly, the present debate about the worth of the High Row steps and railings would be something of a sideshow in comparison.