A COUNCILLOR believes T esco should be fined for wasting taxpayers' cash with repeated planning applications.
The superstore had its fourth bid for a mini-supermarket next to The King's Arms pub, in Rickmansworth Road, refused last Tuesday. It was also unsuccessful when it took the case to appeal last year.
Richard Barnes, councillor (Con) for Harefield, said: "I would argue this is an abuse of the planning process, and a waste of taxpayers' money.
"I want to thank Tesco for finally acknowledging that two vehicles may be on the site at the same time. We recently had two to three months of roadworks where there is only a single lane in the high street. If these occasions occur again, there would be major congestion."
Tesco's agent, Nick Lawrence, said: "My applicant is willing to accept a planning condition which restricts the size of the delivery vehicles to eight metres. It would only be once in a blue moon when two vehicles turn up at the same time."
Duncan Mitchell, a dairy farmer of Mitchell and Sons, Whiteheath Farm, was the lead petitioner who spoke against the plans. He also questioned how long Tesco would keep coming back with applications.
"I have lived in Harefield all my life. We feel passionately about this and it keeps on coming back. How long will it carry on for, will we still be here in 10 years?
"The traffic issues are the big ones; we just feel so strongly about it. The most obvious cause for concern is the need to preserve the village and its character, but this development would ruin it.
"We have a thriving high street. We do have the odd chain but they all sit comfortably with the small traders. If Tesco comes, it would wreck the feeling of the village.
"The development would intrude on the picture postcard views of the green. We believe it is an overdevelopment of both scale and mass and although progress has been made with some aspects of the application, it is still totally out of character.
"The parking is totally inadequate. With the vehicles coming down the high street, it is a nightmare already with the roadworks. This would bring the village to a standstill."
Atul Sodha, who runs Londis in Moorhall Road, also spoke at the meeting.
"Tesco keeps making these minor changes but they are not amounting to much," he said.
"The nature of the site doesn't allow this kind of business to be built, it is about four times the size of any-thing else on the high street."
