THE supermarket wars in Hillingdon are set to ramp up after both Morrisons and Tesco refined their plans.
The two giants hope to open a superstore and hotel on opposite sides of Hillingdon Circus.
Last week, Morrisons submitted its tweaked plans for a £55million development comprising a supermarket, 107 homes and an 82-bedroom hotel.
At the same time, Tesco submitted an environmental statement via its agent, Spenhill Regeneration, for its superstore and an 84-bedroom hotel on the former Master Brewer Hotel site in Freezeland Way.
Mike Langan, chairman of Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce, said two such projects in such close proximity would be one too many.
He told the Gazette: "The general feeling is that the area cannot support both developments so we expect only one of the two stores to be built.
“The businesses in the area, from the feedback we have got, would prefer Morrisons, given the choice, as it would seem to be selling just food, whereas Tesco would sell pretty much a bit of everything.
“It looks like they are trying to keep pace with each so it will be interesting to see which one is given the go-ahead.”
The changes made by Morrisons relate to the design and layout of the development, which it says will create 300 jobs, not including those needed for the construction.
Matthew Thomas, planning director for Bride Hall, Morrisons agent, said: “We’ve been working effectively with planning officers at Hillingdon Council to refine the proposals and work through the technical matters.
“Making these important additional changes means that we have an even stronger application and we’re optimistic we can secure a committee date later this year and get on with bringing our investment and jobs to Hillingdon.”
Both schemes are now awaiting a date to go before the council’s planning committee. Given the nature of the plans it could be that they end up being discussed at the same meeting.
