Fresh row in Whitchurch Sainsbury's v Tesco battle

A fresh row broke out today between rival supermarkets bidding to build new stores in Whitchurch over which development should be considered first by planning bosses.

Tesco bosses say its plans for a new store and filling station at Edgeley Park, on the outskirts of town, should be considered at the same time as a separate bid tabled by Sainsbury's.

But Sainsbury's chiefs, who lodged their planning application several months before Tesco, says there is no reason why a decision on proposals for London Road, nearer the town centre, should be delayed.

Last week Shropshire Council said a decision on the Sainsbury's bid, which has been put forward in conjunction with Terrace Hill Group Plc, could be decided by the north planning committee as soon as next month.

But Simon Hoare, a consultant for Tesco and developer Mercian Developments, said today it would be fairer to consider the two schemes side by side.

He said: "I think there are precedents for this when you consider how Shropshire Council considered four supermarket planning applications in Oswestry side by side.

"That's a good precedent which Shropshire Council should repeat."

Duncan McEwan, Terrace Hill head of retail, said a decision on Sainsbury's should be made at the "earliest opportunity".

Meanwhile a new Sainsbury's store in Shrewsbury Road, Market Drayton, will open on June 10 at 9am, creating about 25 jobs.