SUPERMARKET firm Tesco has pledged to spend £15,000 to revamp a run-down Darlington petrol station, which has been earmarked for a new store.

The site in North Road is overgrown with weeds and is a hotspot for anti-social behaviour after Shell closed the filling station.

Tesco has twice applied to convert the site into an Express store, but both applications were rejected by planners at Darlington Borough Council after outcry from neighbouring residents.

The store appealed against the latest rejection - and lodged a third, revised, application last week.

Last night, the firm offered to spend £15,000 on revamping the site, but residents believe the move is an attempt to win local favour and ease the latest application's move through the planning process.

Linda Atkinson, who lives in North Road, said: "We just do not want a Tesco here.

"We don't need the noise until 11pm, the anti-social behaviour and the extra traffic.

"Tesco don't care about local people's opinions. That site has been in a state for ages and they are only offering to tidy it up now that a planning application has gone in."

A spokesman for Tesco said 60 per cent of local residents, who responded to a mail survey, backed plans for the shop.

He said: "This site has been derelict for some time now, and we are genuinely committed in the longer term to regenerating this site into a store that will not only provide a service to the local community, but be part of the community as well.

"We have already started to demonstrate this commitment by spending £15,000 to improve the temporary appearance of the site for local people. This will also have benefits in terms of health and safety and crime prevention."

Mark Burton, a borough councillor for Harrowgate Hill ward, said: "I've been chasing Tesco for some time now to improve the temporary appearance of the site. They said this would happen in August but as yet nothing has been done.

"I am waiting to hear a firm date on which they plan to start the work."