A TOWN centre facing declining visitors should be rejuvenated by transforming its alleys into mall-style shopping areas featuring boutiques, a long-serving councillor has proposed.

Councillor Doris Jones, who has served on Darlington Borough Council since 1983, said action such as creating glass roofs over the yards off the town’s High Row needed to be taken to encourage shoppers to the area all year round.

The proposal has been made after the authority’s economy and regeneration boss, Councillor Chris McEwan, outlined work the council was undertaking in response to the planned closures of the town’s Marks & Spencer next month and House of Fraser’s Binns department store in February.

He said the council was working with Darlington MP Jenny Chapman and the owner of the Binns premises on options for its future use and was seeking to launch a “town centre reference group” with prominent traders and stakeholders to develop ideas.

Cllr Jones said the town centre had become “a sad and sorry sight” and called for residents to help generate ideas to increase its attractiveness.

She said: “The yards on High Row are very valuable to our town centre. Surely it’s not within the realms of impossibility to think how could we get this to look more involved in the town centre. Put glass roofs over the top, make Post House Wynd more accessible with a glass roof over the top.

“In the winter people are not able to go there as they are the arcades. We are not talking mega expense. A lot more could be done in those yards. We are talking about putting new ideas, new life into the town centre.”

Cllr Jones said there was a dearth of smaller stores in Darlington to buy items such gifts and clothes and to present shoppers with alternatives to visiting Northallerton or Teesside there needed to be focus on attracting independent retailers.

Cllr McEwan said he disagreed the town centre was “a sad sorry sight” and said over the last month it had been “quite buzzing” with events such as the food festival.

He said: “We as a council have been collaborating with traders in the yards to try to spruce it up. Bit by bit we are really trying to capitalise and promote the yards as a good place to visit.”