A HUGE new DIY store on the commercial edge of Northallerton would not damage town centre trade, it was claimed at a public inquiry.

A Government inspector has been asked to decide whether the Sundial Hotel in Darlington Road can be redeveloped as a new and larger base for B&Q, at present operating a few hundred yards away in Yafforth Road.

Development company Morbaine has appealed against the non-determination of its application for a 45,000 sq ft store, 13,000 sq ft garden centre and 9,000 sq ft bulk store with 197 parking spaces on the Sundial site.

Hambleton District Council has accepted that there is a need for a better DIY store in Northallerton but does not think the Sundial site is the right one, claiming that a better location could become available.

The council has said it would be premature and prejudicial to make a decision on the B&Q scheme until outline applications for non-food developments on land owned by Safeway in Willowbeck Road and on a nearby site occupied by Walter Thompson are settled. Another DIY company, Homebase, has been named as the likely occupier of the redeveloped Thompson site.

The level of trade likely to be diverted from town centre shops was assessed by Morbaine retail consultant John Whittaker, who concluded at the inquiry that either B&Q alone, or all three developments taken together, could be accommodated without threatening the health of the high street.

Mr Whittaker told inquiry inspector David Cullingford that B&Q and Homebase would offer complementary services appealing to different market requirements.

B&Q needed new accommodation because its range of goods and services was restricted by the size and layout of its existing store, but it had been impossible to find a site more central than the Sundial.

But Jim Morrissey, a retail consultant commissioned by Hambleton, argued that there was no clear and compelling need for the development.

Local shoppers appeared to be generally satisfied with the existing store and larger premises would not necessarily widen the customer catchment area because there were already more extensive B&Q warehouses of 100,000 sq ft and over in centres such as York and Stockton.

Maurice Cann, head of development services at Hambleton, maintained that the proposal conflicted with national and local retail policies.

Referring to Willowbeck Road and the Walter Thompson site, Mr Cann said: "These two sites, defined as edge of centre, are demonstrably available for large retail developments and are clearly preferable to the appeal site, which lies out of centre.

"Both sites are readily accessible by foot to the town centre and are linked to the town's cycle network."

Mr Cann said that if the Sundial site were approved, there would be more traffic congestion at Low Gates level crossing when the barriers were down at busy times. Pedestrians would face traffic hazards on a busy road north of the crossing and there were no regular bus services.

But Morbaine highways consultant John Lowe said such objections would be overcome by improvements to footpaths. A bus service would run to and from the town centre four times a day.