Tesco extension plans put on hold in Isle of Man
Plans to extend the Tesco store in Lake Road, Douglas have been shelved by the Manx Council of Ministers.
The council agreed with an independent planning inspector following a public inquiry and rejected the extension on increased traffic grounds.
The UK based inspector hired by the Manx government concluded that extra traffic generated by the scheme could not be accommodated on nearby roads.
The council did not however accept his views on the plan's scale and location.
A council spokesman said: "The Council of Ministers did not agree with two other reasons for refusal put forward by the inspector concerning the location and scale of the proposed extension."
The council concluded that refusal on scale and location grounds would be premature and it would carry out further research.
It also reported that the inspector "had given insufficient weight to the established retail use of the existing Tesco site".
A Tesco spokesman said: "We are looking at the detail of the report, however we are pleased that two of the inspector's reasons for refusal were thrown out by the Council of Ministers.
"We know that we have a solution that works for the traffic issue."
"It is unfortunate that this may delay us bringing a new and improved store to Douglas, a store that local people and our staff have been crying out for.
"We will review our options and make a further announcement soon."
The plans included extra sales space, a customer cafe and a decked car park providing room for 566 vehicles.
A glazed atrium would have linked the new car park at ground and first floor level.