Protests outside the Stokes Croft Tesco (Picture: BBC News)
A High Court judge has ruled that Bristol City Council and Tesco both acted lawfully over the controversial supermarket in Stokes Croft.
No Tesco in Stokes Croft campaigners had highlighted what they believed had been flaws in the planning process, specifically the failure to assess the traffic impact of deliveries at the store.
Earlier this year, protesters applied for the review of the council’s planning procedures but it was initially rejected. That decision was appealed against and a second judge in Cardiff allowed the review to take place.
But Mr Justice Duncan Ouseley backed the council’s decision on December 8 last year to grant planning consent for changes to the service yard at the back of the new store, on the site of the former Jesters comedy club.
In a statement, the city council welcomed the decision, adding: “While the council recognised that there was opposition to the opening of a supermarket at this location, planning permission for a retail store already existed and the applications submitted by Tesco and considered by the committee was only for signage, the shopfront design and plant and machinery to be located at the rear of the store outside the premises.”
Claire Milne, who co-ordinated the campaign against the supermarket, said the judge had “slipped the knife into community groups fighting supermarkets nationwide”, adding the group would now look to create a community-owned supermarket.
Wasn't the problem that the judicial review was sought on the decision for the signage not on the decision to allow a supermarket there.