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Ben Jackson at Tesco's

Tesco has submitted plans to extend its flagship store in Bicester to a whopping 7,090sq m.

If given the go-ahead, the Pingle Drive store would almost double in size from its current 4,299sq m.

The application, which has been submitted to Cherwell District Council, also includes a double-decker car park to hold 548 cars.

Tesco spokesman Felix Gummer said: "Bicester faces an exciting future with so much development.

"In addition to the new town centre development, there are plans for a large extension to the south of the town in the areas surrounding our Pingle Drive store and at Bicester Village.

"We are aware the existing store in Pingle Drive is trading well in excess of expectations and needs extending and modernising.

"Our customers are repeatedly telling us about the store's congestion.

"There was overwhelming support for the plans at our consultation and since then we have had further encouragement and support from both the general public and our customers."

Bicester - dubbed Tesco Town' by some - has five other Tesco stores: Hart Place, Holm Square, Shakespeare Drive, a Tesco Express in Nightingale Place and a Tesco Metro in Sheep Street.

Mr Gummer said the Pingle Drive store was in need of modernisation to cope with the large volume of customers as the population in Bicester kept growing.

It is to include more specialist and locally sourced ranges, more checkouts, and wider isles for people with wheelchairs and pushchairs.

It would feature enhanced pedestrian links to the store from residential areas, new bus stops and additional cycle parking facilities.

But butcher Brad Kershaw, who works at Clays in Sheep Street, said: "It's just Tesco, Tesco, Tesco.

"They are getting bigger and bigger and squeezing shops like ours out.

"It's already affecting our business and will make things worse for us.

"They have the parking over there and the town has none. If they don't close the one in the town (Sheep Street), it will just make things worse for us."

Bicester Chamber of Commerce spokesman Ben Jackson said: "We recognise the need to improve the offer to the people of Bicester in terms of produce range, but the chamber has concerns regarding traffic generation we would want to see answered before wholly supporting the application."

3:26pm Thursday 8th May 2008

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