A pub can be converted into a Tesco Express after plans for a new shop front were approved at a council meeting on Tuesday evening.
The King's Head on Coggeshall Road poured its last pint in January 2012 and has been shut since.
An application was made in December 2013 to convert it into a Tesco Express store.
Nineteen objections were received from nearby residents and traders on the grounds of traffic, danger to pedestrians, increased lorries on the road and anti-social problems with the sale of alcohol.
Residents felt that there were already enough shops in the vicinity with a Post Office and One Stop nearby and a Co-op on Mountbatten Road.
Councillor David Mann said: "A constituent of mine reported to the police a near-miss involving a child on this junction.
"There is no disputing this junction is a dangerous one.
"But unfortunately we are not the Highways Authority and they have seen no fault with the road applications, so we are powerless to object."
Councillors voted to approve the application for a new shop front, service yard and canopy with a service yard to the rear, plus an existing entrance door is to be replaced by a glazed entrance with sliding doors and existing window frames to be removed.
A 2.2m by 1.8m service yard will also be built to the rear.
