Fears are growing there may not be enough time for Oswestry councillors to decide which town supermarket bid should get the go-ahead.

Planning bosses at Oswestry Borough Council had hoped a special panel of local councillors would be able to determine which one of three rival bids should be approved.

The council said it was important the decision was taken locally by councillors with knowledge of the area.

But officers said today that because of delays, that plan was looking “in doubt”.

They said there was a growing likelihood the decision would be taken by councillors on the new unitary Shropshire Council which comes into power in April.

Tim Rogers, a planning officer with the borough council, said: “The plan remains that we hope to determine the applications before the end of March, but that now remains to be seen.”

The last of the three applications, which proposes to build the store at car dealer JT Hughes and guttering firm Guttercrest’s sites on Victoria Road, has now been lodged with the council.

That bid follows a proposal by timber firm Richard Burbidge to relocate and use its current site on Whittington Road for a supermarket and cinema.

A third bid involves developers Liberty Mercian and Oswestry Town Council redeveloping the Smithfield livestock market site off Shrewsbury Road.

Mr Rogers said: “Because of the delays in two of the applications being submitted, whether we will have the time required to look at all the applications and determine them before the end of March is now in doubt.”