PLANS to transform an empty unit in a struggling shopping centre into a fish and chip restaurant have been given the go-ahead by councillors.

Emotions ran high as Darlington Borough Council’s planning applications committee approved plans to turn a unit in Queen Street Shopping Centre into a restaurant with takeaway facilities.

The restaurant will replace an empty bakery which closed six years ago and will provide seating for 32 people, both internally and externally in the mall’s thoroughfare.

To allow for the layout of the restaurant and its equipment, one of the two existing entrances, which currently provides disabled access, will be removed, leaving some wheelchair users with no access into the restaurant.

A wheelchair ramp outside the restaurant was also rejected as it would be too big.

As a result, Darlington Association on Disability (Dad) strongly criticised the application, with chairman Gordon Pybus claiming the plans to be a step backward.

Speaking at the meeting he said: “This is the first time I have been involved in a planning application to get rid of wheelchair access.

“At the first site meeting we had, I was sat in that unit while they discussed how do we stop you from getting here.

“I just can’t see how it is moving forward to take away something that is purpose built for that use. In this day and age it is totally backward.”

His concerns were also echoed by Cllr Alan Macnab who said the plans were "treating disabled people as second-class citizens", while a proposal by Cllr David Lyonette to impose a condition on the application to provide disabled access was rejected.

The application, submitted by Kevin Turton, won support from the shopping centre manager, the centre’s asset manager and letting agent, who said the unit has spent longer on its books than any other property.

Mr Turton said that it would not be financially viable to keep the disabled entrance as six seats would have to be lost.

Cllr Charles Johnson said: “I think the developers here have tried every option. As much as we would like to [provide disabled access], this is one of them where we need to look at the viability and we need this sort of development to go ahead.”

Chairman of the committee, Councillor Paul Baldwin used his casting vote to approve the plans, after four members voted in favour of the application and four rejected it.