A SIX-year battle by a supermarket chain to move out of Northallerton High Street came to end yesterday.

Hambleton District Council's development control committee gave the green light for Safeway to leave its town centre outlet and build a bigger store on the site of the former No Frills DIY store in Willowbeck Road.

Councillors approved two plans - one for a 35,000 sq ft store and one for a 40,000 sq ft store that includes extra storage and better staff facilities.

Plans show the existing buildings being replaced with a car park of up to 260 spaces, with the store itself built in the north-eastern corner of the site.

A spokesman for Safeway said: "We are very pleased that we are going to be able to bring improved food shopping facilities to people in Northallerton. This will help increase employment and the attractiveness of the town as a whole."

Rivals Tesco and Somerfield lodged objections stating that there was no identifiable need for another large supermarket in the town. The Strategic Rail Authority had asked for a decision to be deferred as the site could form part of a proposed scheme to alleviate traffic jams at Low Gates level crossing.

Speaking from the public gallery, County Coun John Coulson urged members to turn down the scheme. He raised concerns about traffic congestion at the level crossing.

A traffic study by the county highway authority found that the development would lead to bigger queues of traffic at Low Gates level crossing, of up to four more cars in the southbound queue and around ten more in the northbound lane.

Coun Coulson said the out-of-town store would further damage the High Street.

He also argued that the proposed site was prone to flooding and that the alleviation schemes in the plans did not do enough to prevent further flooding.

Coun Tony Hall said the development would not have a big impact on the vibrancy of the town centre's economy. "I believe that Northallerton High Street exists entirely on its quality and I believe that quality is still there," he said.

The scheme was approved by 11 votes to five.

A spokesman for Somerfield said: " We did oppose it on the grounds that it would have a detrimental impact on other traders, including ourselves."

She said the company was confident the development would not affect its business in the long term. "Competition inevitably brings benefits to customers," she said.

Jim Turnbull, head of Northallerton chamber of trade, said the result would help clean up the north end of the town. "That end of the town certainly needs developing," he said.

"It has been an eyesore and a blight on that end of Northallerton for a number of years.

"It is just a shame that we have lost another food retailer out of the middle of the High Street. We will just have to adapt."

l Keen interest in High Street premises: page 3.

l Leading article: page 20.