SELBY town centre could suffer yet another blow if a major retailer is allowed to move out.

Argos - long a mainstay of the Market Cross shopping centre - wants to close down and open a far larger store in the out-of-town Three Lakes Retail Park.

The retailer says its Selby branch its one of the smallest it has, and it would be able to offer shoppers a "better experience" in a bigger store.

But Selby mayor Fred Matthews said Market Cross had gone through enough disruption already. He said: "The centre of Selby relies on the trade of shops, and to lose a shop which draws people in would be to the detriment of the town centre."

Planning rules on parts of Three Lakes originally limited shops to selling "bulky goods", such as furniture, garden supplies, camping equipment and motor parts.

But centre owners Dransfield now wants to overturn those rules to pave the way for Argos to move there.

The plan has already prompted stiff opposition.

Tina Mason, Selby Town Council clerk, said: "The council is of the opinion that these conditions were imposed for very good reason - to preserve the viability of the town centre."

And Coun Matthews said: "The Market Cross shopping area needs enough shops to draw people in. Losing Argos would certainly harm passing trade in Market Cross, which has already suffered quite a bit of disruption. This is not what it needs."

Selby District Council's principal economic development officer, Eileen Scothern, called on Argos to look at other, larger sites closer to the town centre, including one adjacent to Market Cross.

The existing shop has 7,300sq ft of space. The proposed shop at Three Lakes would be 10,500sq ft. Ms Scothern said there were already two 10,000sq ft sites earmarked in the town centre.

But a spokesman for Argos said the lease on its shop would expire in 2010, and there was no certainty that the other town centre sites would be ready by then.

The council's own planners are recommending the shop gets the go-ahead to move out - as long as it agrees to upgrade the bus stops on the A1041 and the surrounding pavements, as well as provide bike shelters to discourage car use.

If Argos did move, the empty town centre unit is likely to be turned into a "one-stop shop" district council office.

A final decision will be made by councillors on November 15.