PLANS to develop a major centre for the development of football on the outskirts of Darlington have created a mixture of excitement and controversy since being unveiled by The Northern Echo yesterday.

The excitement comes from the potential for a host of new soccer facilities, and also from the fact the scheme will include a centre of excellence to further the development of youngsters' skills.

The Soccerdome would include six outdoor five-a-side pitches, one 11-a-side outdoor pitch 18 five-a-side pitches in "air domes" on 15 acres of land next to the former Cummins factory, which forms the centrepoint of the proposals, as well as two five-a-side pitches inside that building.

Also inside the building, which is on the southern side of Yarm Road, there would be a JJB Sports health club, covering about 30,000 sq ft, including a half-size Olympic swimming pool, a gym, aerobics and dance studios and a steam room.

The controversy is sparked by the retail element to the scheme. JJB Sports, which is behind the plans, say they need to include one of its stores, plus a TJ Hughes store, on the site to make it a financially viable scheme and to help create 400 jobs.

This has spurred businessman Duncan Bannatyne to halt his own plans to buy land nearby from Darlington Borough Council to build a new head office and health club.

While the impact of the JJB health club must form the centre of Mr Bannatyne's concerns, he argues the council should stand by its blueprint that states retail development should be kept within the town centre.

Town centre retailers have vowed to back the council in its aims to keep retail within the inner ring road area.

Albion Small, chairman of the Darlington Chamber of Trade, said: "Darlington Borough Council, in their schemes and their various plans for the centre of Darlington, have always been for retail to be in within the ring road. The Chamber of Trade have always backed them in that respect."

However, High Point Estates, which owns the building at the centre of JJB's plans, says the developer will ensure it keeps a town centre presence if the scheme goes ahead.

Chairman Demi Chervak said: "JJB are prepared to sign an undertaking with the council to keep the town centre store open."

He said there would benefits for the community in the Soccerdome scheme, which is expected to be larger than the three existing centres, in Wigan, Manchester and Derby.

Schools and community football clubs would be given limited free access to the facilities during off-peak time.

JJB's plans are not the first of their kind to centre on the building.

In May 1996, similar plans were drawn up by Darlington Football Club for a multi-purpose leisure and business centre for the site incorporated a £5m Soccerdome project.

This was renamed Soccerama following the end of a Soccerdome's sponsorship of the club, when the Quakers were taken over by Mike Peden, managing director of developer Chaddingtons.

But after objections were raised by English Heritage, the plans fell through in 1999.