A LEADING politician has called on a retail chain to comment on rumours that it is to close Durham's only major city centre supermarket.

Doubts have been raised over the long-term future of Safeway, in the Milburngate Shopping Centre, following the £3bn acquisition of the company by Morrisons in a protracted takeover battle.

Following the completion of the deal in March, Morrisons bosses were ordered by the Competition Commission to offload 52 of their stores around the country.

In May, the company announced the sale to its rival Sainsbury's of six North-East stores, including branches in Darlington and Team Valley.

Last month, Asda agreed to buy several stores in the North-East and earlier this week, Morrisons announced it was selling two on Teesside to Tesco.

However, Morrisons still needs to sell about a dozen outlets to comply with the Competition Commission.

The company is reported to be considering closure of those it cannot sell.

Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Durham City, has written to the Safeway chief executive seeking clarification following reports that the Milburngate store has been earmarked for closure.

That would leave the city centre without a food supermarket, other than the small food hall at Marks & Spencer, in Silver Street, and a branch of Iceland in North Road.

Ms Blackman-Woods said the future of the store was vital to the city centre, not only in terms of jobs but also for ease of access for people unable to reach big out-of-town retail centres, such as the Arnison Centre.

She said: "The Safeway store is the only supermarket in the city centre.

"It provides a valuable resource for residents and employees working in the city and is particularly used by the large number of students in Durham.

"If this store is closed, it will be a devastating blow for residents of the city and those who are already disadvantaged by not having the means or the ability to get to one of the out-of-town shopping centres."

The store was the subject of a £1m refurbishment completed two years ago.

A spokesman for Morrisons said the company was unable to make any comment on the situation.

* Work is under way to convert the former Safeway store in Consett into a Morrisons.

The refurbishment of the store in Front Street is expected to be finished by next month.

It will be redeveloped along the lines of the Morrisons' Market Street format, comprising food counters such as fishmongers, butchers and bakers.

In addition to public areas, the conversion includes warehousing, the canteen and staff rest areas.

Store manager Bill Roberts said: "Since our takeover of Safeway in March of this year, we have had very positive feedback from shoppers."