Shrewsbury Tesco wants more space to sell non-food items

Supermarket giant Tesco has submitted fresh plans to increase the amount of space it can use for non-grocery products at its Shrewsbury store.

The move comes after the store admitted it had "inadvertently" breached planning rules over the issue.

Tesco has resubmitted a planning application to vary a condition of consent originally imposed by the Secretary of State in 2004 before the store in Battlefield was built.

The condition said it could use no more than 1,447 sq m of floorspace for "comparison goods", such as clothing, footwear and household goods.

But Tesco has admitted it has been using an additional 624 sq m over the permitted figure. The store has also been using 269 sq m of sales floorspace than allowed.

Shrewsbury Town Centre Residents' Association previously raised concerns about the issue at the store, which opened in 2007.

Now Tesco has applied for the condition to be amended to allow it to have 4,789 sq m of sales floorspace including 2,071 for non-grocery goods.

Today Selby Martin, of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said the store's breach was "deplorable".

But Tesco spokesman Tony Fletcher today claimed the amount of space the store was using for comparison goods had been defined after discussions with Shropshire Council officers.

Mr Martin said: "Tesco are describing this as an inadvertent breach but I think it is deplorable that a firm like Tesco should abuse its position and strength and push through an increase in comparison goods and sales space in conflict with the condition imposed on them and it shouldn't be allowed."

Andy Boddington, chairman of CPRE Shropshire, said the council must refuse the application.