COUNCILLORS' "fatal attraction" for a cinema will kill Kidderminster town centre, it is feared.

The developer of the £60 million Weavers Wharf site and Kidderminster Town Centre Partnership claim Wyre Forest district councillors were blinded by the lure of a silver screen in approving plans for a cinema on the edge of town last week.

By backing a four-screen cinema, two restaurants and a Big W Woolworths store on Crossley Retail Park they have gone against the Local Plan which designates the site for bulky goods only.

Developer Centros Miller and the partnership fear it will open the floodgates for major stores to leave the town centre and relocate to Crossley Park.

Centros' application for a six-screen cinema is set to go before planners in January.

Development manager David Lewis said: "We are extremely disappointed. This paves the way for stores such as Marks & Spencer and Boots to leave the town centre.

"We would have been quite happy for B&Q to make a separate application for a cinema - we can handle the competition - but to put the two together is nonsensical.

"It is a total non-brainer and goes against Government policy of the last eight to 10 years - to rejuvenate town centres."

Partnership chairman Peter Picken agreed.

He said: "We desperately want a cinema but we don't see why the application had to include the change of planning use.

"I think councillors have been blinded by the cinema. It is has taken precedence over all the application and we would have preferred if the planning change had not gone through."

Mr Lewis said: "The last thing town retailers need is another out-of-town shopping centre on their doorstep. They already have to compete with Merry Hill and Worcester."

He also warned the company would fight the decision and it could cost the taxpayer a lot of money if it came to a public inquiry or judicial review.

However, district environment and economic regeneration portfolio holder Howard Martin said his colleagues had not been dazzled by the cinema.

He said: "It is not all about the cinema - we looked long and hard at this application. The Big W store is sustainable and will not affect the town centre.

"I can't see stores moving out of town to Crossley Park. I think they (critics) are being a little parochial in their outlook. We are not just looking at the town centre - we have to promote and protect the whole of Wyre Forest."

About the threat of a public inquiry, he said: "You have to stand up for your principles. You cannot ignore a matter because of potential costs. You decide what you want first and then worry about the implications."

As a departure from the Local Plan the application will come back to next month's planning (development control) meeting to have full decision reasons and conditions attached to it.

It will then be referred to the Government Office for the West Midlands.