A new Tesco store should open on the outskirts of Clacton next year after plans cleared the latest hurdle

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has decided not to call the plans in for a public inquiry, so the construction company can get the finer details agreed.

Kevin Britton Construction - the firm behind the Brook Park development where the superstore will be built - was told the decision yesterday.

Mr Britton will need to thrash out the finer details and a legal agreement with Tendring Council. However, councillors decided in March to approve the project, provided the Government did not intervene.

It had been hoped that the Secretary of State would come up with an answer in as little as three weeks, but it has taken nearly two months due to a delay over the paperwork.

The Tesco site will cover 72,000 sq ft and there are hopes that it will be open 24 hours a day. It will create about 300 new jobs.

A spokesman for Britton Construction said: "The fact that it will not be called in for a public inquiry is what we needed to hear."

Published Friday May 21, 2004

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