Members of the Morpeth and District Chamber of Trade are concerned that Sainsbury's has mentioned what planning gain from a potential 35,000 sq ft store at Stobhill could be spent on.

At a meeting of Morpeth Town Council, where Chamber members Ken Stait and Stuart Lishman attended and spoke, the company said it had been pointed to Morpeth Town Hall and the Chantry building, which houses a tourist information centre and a bagpipe museum, as places that require investment for improvement works.

It has also been informed of projects with the Stobhill Community Forum but in a report to the Chamber, the two men were upset that it had publicly stated potential areas from planning gain.

Mr Stait said: "It was quite shocking that their people were so upfront about where planning gain could be spent, I'm surprised they did it in this way."

Mr Lishman, the Chamber's Vice Chairman, added: "Sainsbury's had certainly done its homework and knew that the Town Hall and Chantry are the two main buildings in Morpeth that need investment.

"The majority of Morpeth Town councillors agreed with us that there shouldn't be a supermarket out of the town centre, but I noticed with some of them that their ears pricked up when the Town Hall and Chantry were mentioned.

"I hope councillors on the Borough Council's planning committee aren't swayed by planning gain when they decide on the application."

He added that he and Mr Stait clearly told Sainsbury's representatives of the Chamber of Trade's position and the organisation will make an objection when the application is made with the help of Dransfield Properties, which is in charge of the Sanderson Arcade scheme in the town centre.