THE owner of a town's major shopping centre has submitted a £5m bid to take over its car park and toilets.

Legal and General, which owns the Cleveland Centre, in Middlesbrough, wants to take over the facilities from Middlesbrough Borough Council.

The centre, which was built in the early 1970s, was taken over by the firm in 1975. At about the same time, the council signed a lease for the management of the 550-space rooftop car park, staircases and ground floor public toilets.

Now Legal and General has applied for permission to take them over.

Jonathan Goble, the firm's shopping centre fund manager, said. "We will be changing the operation of the car park to pay on foot because pay and display is not that easy to operate."

After considering the offer, the council's consultants, DTZ, have recommended the cabinet accept it at a meeting today. But a report asks councillors to balance the short-term gain with a long-term loss of £445,000 a year.

In the report, Les Southerton, chief executive of Middlesbrough Town Centre Company, states: "As was the case with the Hill Street Centre, the council needs to respond positively to such requests where private owners wish to purchase assets owned by the council. This proposal will assist the regeneration of a major shopping centre in the town."