FOUR developers are bidding for a contract to build a major shopping complex in Darlington.

The £90m Queen Street/Commercial Street scheme looks back on track after a hiccup when the previous developer pulled out.

Darlington Borough Council says there has been a huge amount of interest in the project from other companies.

The four contenders have been weeded out of an initial list of 15 forms.

The developers now have about two months to come forward with detailed proposals for the town centre site.

A decision on who will build the centre will be made in February.

A spokesman for the council said the authority was in the middle of a two-stage process of choosing a new developer for Queen Street.

"Fifteen developers made submissions and four have been shortlisted to go through to the second stage," he said.

"This is great news for the town as it demonstrates a lot of interest in Darlington."

The original developer - St Martin's Property Group - put its Queen Street site up for sale in the autumn saying it wanted to concentrate on work in London.

The council was worried the land could be sold to a company not interested in retail development so posing a threat to a strategy to transform the town centre.

So it was decided to market council-owned land next to the site to ensure the complex scheme went ahead.

Developers of this will be expected to include Queen Street in their plans.

Council leader John Williams said: "We have four top-quality developers putting together plans for the Commercial Street project, which shows a high level of confidence in Darlington town centre.

"We now have to examine the detailed proposals when they are ready and ensure the companies are able to deliver a scheme which is right for our town."

But the leader of the council's Conservative group, Coun Tony Richmond, thought celebrations were premature.

"I am glad there is a shortlist, but we have been here before," he said.

"The real success is when construction starts.

"The St Martin's scheme was all set to go ahead, so let's hope there is no repeat of that situation this time around."

Alasdair MacConachie, chairman of Darlington Partnership, said the shortlist was terrific news.

"The demise of the earlier scheme was very disappointing," he said. "The scheme is just what the town needs to move forward."