HOUNSLOW looks set to get a huge new Tesco store after proposals won the backing of planning officers.

The supermarket giant claims the new store - with more than 5,000 sqm of retail floorspace, making it larger than the nearby Asda - will breathe new life into the eastern end of Hounslow High Street.

If approved, the store will replace the empty Hounslow House office block, beside the bus garage in London Road, and the Black Arrow warehouses behind.

Members of the council's sustainable development committee are due to vote on the application on Monday (July 25). It is rare for them to go against officers' recommendations, especially when the application has not proved controversial.

Tesco's corporate affairs manager Tony Fletcher said he hoped the new store would give residents greater choice and attract more shoppers to the High Street.

"Our new scheme represents a significant investment in jobs and the local economy," he added.

"We have made significant changes during its development in response to feedback and we were very encouraged by the support shown by people who filled out a comments card at our most recent public exhibition."

Tesco estimates the new store would create up to 350 full and part-time jobs.

As well as a new supermarket, the building would include a ground-floor car park for up to 287 vehicles and a row of independent shops.

It would range in height from the equivalent of a five-storey to a seven-storey block - the same height as the neighbouring Mecca Bingo development.

Access to the car park would be via London Road, at the eastern end of the site, where a new set of traffic lights would be installed.

When the Chronicle spoke to residents and traders after the plans were first announced last year, they met with general approval.

Only four people responded to council consultation on the scheme, with one person raising concerns about the impact on small traders in the area.

Tesco originally announced plans in 2009 for a store at the site with 136 flats above. It dropped the housing element due to a mixture of concerns from residents and falling house prices.