Council accused of 'bias' over Mablethorpe Tesco plan
A council has been accused of bias after refusing planning permission for a £50m development in Lincolnshire.
East Lindsey council rejected plans by the Lindum Group for 180 homes and a supermarket in Golf Road, Mablethorpe.
But it said it was "minded to approve" proposals by Tesco for a store on council-owned land in Station Road.
The Lindum Group said the council would gain financially from Tesco's plans. In response, the council said it would "investigate any complaints received".
David Chambers, chairman of the Lindum Group, said: "Tesco were going either on the council site or our site.
"If they go on the council site the council would receive a considerable amount of money. If they go on our site the council will receive less money even though the town would benefit more."
Councillor Tony Howard, who represents the Mablethorpe East ward for both the district council and Mablethorpe and Sutton Town Council, also said he was angry the plans had been rejected.
He said: "A supermarket is something which local people of the area have been clamouring for for some time.
"We've got a housing problem - there are lots of people on the waiting list and not enough houses to meet the demand.
"The whole project would have helped the economy in several ways. During the building stage Lindum have stated that they will use local people as far as they possibly can and they are a relatively local firm, being based in Lincolnshire."
The council had rejected the Lindum Group's plans on the grounds of "detrimental impact on the town centre".
A spokesman said: "We will, of course, investigate any complaint we receive.
"Tesco doesn't have planning approval - there are still a number of important issues to resolve surrounding their proposed development.
"The committee were minded to approve the application subject to a number of issues being addressed."
The council said the Tesco application would be considered at the next planning committee meeting.
Tesco said it had met with the Lindum Group to discuss the Golf Road application, but had not agreed to run the supermarket within it.
A Tesco spokesman said: "We are encouraged that our application is progressing well and are keen to take it to a positive conclusion.
"We are confident that the site is the best available as it is closest to the town centre. We are very close to finalising the details and are looking forward to a successful outcome.
"The Lindum Homes application is entirely separate to ours and therefore we are unable to comment on it."