A massive new shopping centre development will go ahead in County Durham after a High Court battle.
The £16m scheme was the subject of a legal battle between the county council and the owners of the neighbouring Castle Dene Shopping Centre.
Planning bosses gave the green light to the development on the former East Durham and Houghall College site, in Peterlee, earlier this year.
The project, which will include a Lidl, Home Bargains and a KFC, is expected to create 120 jobs.
But the scheme has been the subject of a bitter legal stand-off between Durham County Council and Praxis, the owner of the nearby Castle Dene Shopping Centre.
They went down a legal avenue to challenge the work and requested a judicial review but top judges sided with the council.
Councillor Carl Marshall, the authority’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “The development of the former college site will provide a major boost to efforts to improve the retail offer in Peterlee and, hopefully, provide a catalyst for further developments in the town over the coming years.
“It is disappointing that the progress of the development has been delayed by the challenges brought by Praxis
"However, the Court of Appeal’s decision is a vindication of our approach to the planning process and means work can now begin on the site.”
Durham County Council awarded permission to Quora (Peterlee) Ltd to redevelop the former East Durham and Houghall College site, in Peterlee, earlier this year.
East Durham College vacated the site in Burnhope Way in 2009.
It was subsequently purchased by supermarket chain Tesco, which was granted planning permission to develop the land two years later but it never went ahead.
ChronicleLive has contacted Praxis for comment.
