ASDA'S £17.5m new store in Bishop Auckland will not be built until at least next year, the company said yesterday.

The 40,000 sq ft development has planning consent in principle, but is awaiting final approval from the new Housing and Planning Minister, Lord Falconer.

With the supermarket chain's building programme well under way, this means work on the old Wilson's Forge site, in South Church Road, could not start until next year at the earliest.

Former Environment Secretary John Prescott gave the development his blessing last August after a two-week public inquiry held at Bishop Auckland Methodist Church.

Since then, Asda has been working on details of a complex legal agreement which includes making a commitment to a £2m refurbishment of Bishop Auckland's Newgate Shopping Centre, where it has its existing store.

The company has also pledged £150,000 towards public transport, and environmental and traffic-calming initiatives in Bishop Auckland.

A spokeswoman said yesterday: "The new larger store will attract shoppers back into Bishop Auckland and remove the need for people to travel out of town and out of the area to do their shopping.

"We anticipate that is will be part of our store development programme for 2002."