PLANS to make Chester-le-Street the first smoking-free town in Britain are to be looked at soon.

The district council is considering banning smoking from bars, restaurants, shops and even parks and streets. A report is being prepared on the feasibility of the scheme which will be looked at by the council's Green Communities Advisory Review Panel, on February 11.

It is not yet clear whether smoking can legally be banned in parks or streets, but nothing is being ruled out. Councillors are already planning meetings with bar, restaurant and shop owners.

But a council spokesman said any plans for a smoke-free town could take months, if not years, to be implemented.

He said: "Any such proposal would have to go to both the executive and council meetings to be debated, after which it will go to the local business and community at large for extensive consultation. This process can take months, if not years."

The proposals have been welcomed by health managers and the anti-smoking group, Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) and other health bodies.

Ian Miller, smoking cessation specialist for Durham and Chester-le-Street NHS Primary Care Trust, said research had shown that smoking bans in bars and restaurants encouraged trade, rather than dissuaded people from visiting. He also believes youngsters would be less inclined to smoke if they did not see others doing so.

Coun Geoff Armstrong, chairman of the Green Communities Panel, said they were not yet sure how far the plans would go, but said they would take on board the views of townspeople.

But he said other places that had banned smoking, such as the MetroCentre and The Lambton Arms in Gateshead, had found bans did not adversely affect trade.

He said: "We would have to do a survey of people's views first, but if we get a significant figure in favour of a ban, I believe we are there to represent our population's views."

Simon Clark, director of the pro-smoking lobby group, Forest, said councils in several areas had discovered they had no powers to introduce wholesale smoking bans.

"It's become fashionable for local politicians and unelected health professionals to jump on the bandwagon by trying to impose widespread restrictions on smokers.

"There are already enough retrictions, including in the workplace, on public transport, in public buildings, and so on, which most smokers agree with and go along with. But smokers are an easy target and this is quite outrageous."