Tesco abandons plan to sell more non-food items
Tesco has withdrawn its plans to increase the amount of space it uses for non-food products at its Shrewsbury superstore – because it is already using more space than it says it wants to in its planning application, officers said today. Tesco has withdrawn its plans to increase the amount of space it uses for non-food products at its Shrewsbury superstore – because it is already using more space than it says it wants to in its planning application, officers said today. Campaigners have criticised the supermarket chain since it put in a retrospective application to stock an extra 152 sq metres more of goods including clothing and recreational items at its Extra store in Harlescott, after it broke planning rules restricting non-grocery space. Read more in today's Shropshire Star
The firm pulled its plans for the expansion at the 11th hour in March.
And today it emerged that a further application to vary a condition for additional floorspace for comparison goods has now been withdrawn following talks between Tesco and Shropshire Council.
In a report Stuart Thomas, central area manager at the council, said: "Concerns were expressed by objectors that the application understated the amount of floorspace actually being used for sales of comparison goods in this retrospective application.
"The revised floorspace figures from Tesco indicated that the amount of comparison goods floorspace is in fact in excess of the figure included in the current application."
