A PUBLIC inquiry will be held into Braintree District Council's decision to reject planning permission for a new Sainsbury's superstore.
Plans for the new 19,000sq ft shop with a 500 space car park, 42 bike spaces, a click and collect point, a bakery and a delicatessen were first submitted in August 2012.
Around 400 new jobs were proposed for the Broomhills Industrial Estate site in Pods Way, but the application was rejected at a planning meeting in November last year after months of legal wrangling.
Initially a decision was due in July last year, but the item was pulled from the council agenda after Sainsbury's questioned planning consultants GVA's recommendations, which said the impact on the town centre was overstated.
A 2,000 signature petition in support of the new superstore was submitted to the council last year, but 217 documents that relate to the case shows that some businesses in the town centre object to the out-of-town development.
One of the reasons listed by Braintree Council for the initial refusal was that Sainsbury's proposals failed to meet with the requirements of the authority's core strategy which states that "the council will promote and secure the highest possible standards of design and layout in all new development" and will aim to "create good quality built environments in commercial and business districts and in the public realm as well as in residential areas".
Another reason given was that "an appropriate section 106 agreement or unilateral undertaking has not been completed by the application to provide appropriate mitigation in respect of highway safety, public transport improvements and public art".
The deal with Sainsbury's, proposed through a section 106 agreement with the council, would have seen donations of £120,000 made to Braintree Museum, £86,500 to the Portas Pilot Scheme, £75,000 to help independent shops and £40,000 to refurbish the statue of John Ray. The supermarket firm say the package offered to the council remains on the table though.
A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "As an anchor in the town centre for over 30 years, we remain committed to the comprehensive package of town centre improvement initiatives that permission for a new store would enable."
