DEVELOPERS have until the end of the month to express an interest in the Darlington College of Technology site.

College officials hope to move from the Cleveland Avenue site as part of a £27m development.

The preferred site for the new college is the Torrington buildings in Yarm Road, but no deal has been made with the engineering company.

The college site has been put up for sale by Storey Sons and Parker and is offered as a potential for residential development, although planning permission for houses has not yet been granted.

Although the college will not move from the site until Summer 2005, initial expressions of interest in the area are required by November 29.

A shortlist of potential buyers will then be drawn up and it is estimated the sale will be completed by August.

Although plans to move the college have been welcomed by people in the Cleveland Avenue area, those near the proposed site are unhappy about the extra traffic it will generate.

One said: "Further road congestion will not only be damaging to the residents of this area but also to the businesses already established."

College principal Sarah Farley said the move was necessary to cope with increasing student numbers.

She also said that if the college was redesigned on its site, only one building at a time could be redeveloped, meaning the whole area would be disrupted for years.