Tesco scuppers eco-town proposal

One of the 15 remaining proposals to build an eco-town has been abandoned after Tesco pulled out of the plan.

The supermarket had been the main backer of the Hanley Grange; a plan to build an 8,000-home eco-town on a greenfield site in Cambridgeshire.

Situated on the outskirts of Duxford, the scheme had already run into problems when medical charity Wellcome Trust refused to sell land in order to facilitate the development.

Releasing a statement earlier today, the supermarket refused to rule out future development of the land, and is now expected to push forward a housing development through the mainstream planning process.

The scheme had attracted vehement opposition from local groups, including the Stop Hanley Grange Group (SHGG).

Julie Redfern, chair of the Stop Hanley Grange campaign, said of the proposal: "This so-called 'masterplan' is a joke.

"It’s just a drawing of a map of the site with a few roads and different coloured areas for houses, shops and so on."

The group had also called the proposals "an environmentally unfriendly blot on the landscape".

However, in a statement a Tesco spokesman argued the organisation put forward a "strong proposal for an environmentally-leading mixed-use development at Hanley Grange".

"We think the proposal had very good prospects of succeeding under the government's Eco Town initiative," he added.

Chris O'Toole