A DEVELOPER has been criticised after reneging on a deal which would have allowed a sports and social club to reopen.

There was a public outcry earlier this year when Middlesbrough Co-operative Club shut after being bought by George Wimpey UK.

Hundreds of members and nearby residents protested so Wimpey - which does not have planning permission to develop the five-acre site - struck a deal with Middlesbrough Council to allow it to be sub-leased to members.

Now, after wrangles with the authority over the terms of the agreement, the developer has backed out.

Yesterday, it would not comment on its decision.

Angry members have organised a public meeting tonight when they will call on the council to take the land - donated to the people of the town by swimming champion Jack Hatfield, in the 1920s - back into public ownership.

Campaigner Peter McConnell said members were devastated.

"It is absolutely disappointing," he said. "It has really knocked the heart out of people. We have just been led up the garden path and I don't think they ever had any intention of giving us the lease."

Mr McConnell said members accepted that the club, in Acklam Road, could never be reopened. Instead, he said they were calling for a new sports and social club and community centre on the site.

"We are saying it should be taken into public ownership and we now need to get more residents involved with this," he said. "People don't want housing there and they need to help us fight this."

Councillor Ron Lowes, Middlesbrough Council's executive with responsibility for the environment, said he would ask council officers to explore options for buying the land back from Wimpey.

"It must be heartbreaking for members who have put so much time and effort into bringing the facilities up to standard," he said.

Wimpey put forward an application to build 32 houses there in 2000, but it has never been approved and is unlikely to be because the land is designated as primary open space in the local town plan.

The meeting will take place at 7pm at Acklam Grange School, in Lodore Grove.