COUNCILLORS are being asked to approve plans to move an authority's creaking computer system to purpose-built headquarters.

Durham County Council - one of the largest 200 users of ICT in the country and the largest local authority in the region - is considering relocating its facilities to an £800,000 centre at Tanfield Lea, near Stanley, following a series of computer system crashes.

The authority's main ICT facility at County Hall, which stores and processes vital information for its departments, has suffered an increasing number of incidents during the past year.

There have been a number of power cuts and air-conditioning failures which led to the system temporarily shutting down.

In the worst case, fire broke out after equipment overheated and the entire system went down for three days - with services affected for ten days while the computer links were restored.

On Thursday, members of the authority's cabinet will be asked to vote on proposals to relocate the main systems to a purpose-built centre in the Comeleon building on Tanfield Lea Industrial Estate - as part of a partnership arrangement with Derwentside District Council, which would move some of its own systems onto the site from its existing base at Consett Civic Centre.

In a report to members, customer services director Alan Hodgson, said: "In the 34 years I have worked in the ICT industry, I have never come across such poorly resourced and inadequate facilities."

At present, the authority's business continuity system - its back-up facility - is located at the council's depot in Framwellgate Moor, which was set up as a temporary measure in 2002.

However, the site is to be sold as part of a deal to move the council's Service Direct workforce to premises on the former Mackays carpet factory on Meadowfield Industrial Estate, in Durham City.