A plan to build a Tesco store, hotel and houses on the former Master Brewer site has been approved.

Borough councillors sitting on the Major Applications Planning Committee met at the Civic Centre in Uxbridge High Street last night (Wednesday, August 27) and voted in favour of developer Spenhill's application.

Two revised planning applications for the site in Freezeland Way, Hillingdon - one for a 3,543sq m Tesco and six-storey, 70 bedroom hotel and another for 125 homes - were sent to Hillingdon Council in March.

The plans were changed when the committee refused original applications in December last year (2013) on the grounds of the excessive height of the proposed hotel - seven-storeys at the time - and the impact of the development on traffic and road safety.

At the same planning meeting in December, councillors voted to refuse an application to build a Morrisons supermarket on the opposite side of Long Lane in Hillingdon.

The developer of the Morrisons site, Bride Hall, is yet to submit another application to the council.

Planning officer Adrien Waite said the reasons for refusal last time round had been resolved because the height of the hotel had been reduced, cumulative issues raised by going up against the Morrisons plan were no longer an issue and changes had been made to reduce the impact of the development on road safety and traffic. He recommended that councillors approve the scheme.

But Ickenham Residents' Association (IRA) and Oak Farm Residents' Association (OFRA) had both submitted petitions against the scheme - not convinced by the changes made.

Jill Dalton, speaking on behalf of IRA, said: "We still have a number of concerns regarding pedestrian safety, the impact on traffic, the environmental impact and the retail impact on local shops."

The worries of the IRA included the effect of increased waiting times for pedestrians at crossings due to traffic light re-phasing, as well as the impact on traffic in Long Lane which runs into Ickenham.

"Air pollution at the Master Brewer site has levels as high as Heathrow," she added. "This will only make the pollution levels worse."

From OFRA, Vic Stoneham said he had lived in Hillingdon for over 40 years.

"Oak Farm estate is the closest housing area to the Tesco site. We are dubious of the traffic assessment that has been carried out because it doesn't reflect what we see everyday. It seems to miss out 20 - 30 minute queues," he argued.

But Anthony Taylor, who lives in Petworth Gardens in the Oak Farm Estate, said he would love to have a supermarket close to home to easily provide for his family.

"A couple of years ago my daughter and her children moved in with me and my wife in Hillingdon. We have gone from shopping once a week to shopping three or four times a week. We know other more elderly people whose children have moved back home and have bigger families to shop for, who would definitely benefit from a Tesco nearby, offering competitive prices and a good range of products.

"We would love to see Tesco bring a derelict site back to a useful site," he said.

Tesco promise that the store will bring 200 jobs to the area, with 30 per cent going to the long-term unemployed.

The development also includes a five hectare public green space and developers continue to work with Transport for London to finalise changes to the phasing of traffic lights in Hillingdon Circus, and to extend the U10 bus route to include a stop at Hillingdon station.

The committee - councillors Peter Curling, Manjit Khatra and Janet Duncan for Labour and Conservative John Hensley, Ian Edwards, Henry Higgins, John Morgan and Brian Stead - unanimously agreed to approve the application for the Tesco and hotel.

Although the plan for homes was approved by the majority of councillors, Labour's Janet Duncan and Manjit Khatra opposed on the grounds of air pollution in the area.