The decision to site Oswestry’s new multi-million pound supermarket on the town’s Smithfield livestock site was ‘flawed and perverse’, an appeal hearing will be told next week.

The claim has been made in submissions from planning consultants working for Oswestry firms JT Hughes and Guttercrest.

The two firms are appealing against Shropshire Council’s decision in 2010 to reject their joint bid to build a supermarket on their land at Victoria Road and instead give the go-ahead to a rival, £56 million plan to site the store, as well as a cinema, shops and offices, on the livestock site.

They hope a planning inspector will overturn the council’s decision and allow them to build a food only store at Victoria Road.

The inspector will scrutinise the councillors’ decision during an appeal hearing at Oswestry’s Castle View offices on Wednesday.

Papers already lodged with the planning inspector have revealed on what grounds the firms will fight the decision.

Submissions from their planning consultant Les Stephan claim councillors were wrong to choose the Smithfield site, which is further away from Oswestry town centre than the Victoria Road site.

Mr Stephan claims in his report the councillors’ decision was ‘flawed and perverse’, was contrary to national planning policy and planning guidelines to protect town centres, and did not follow the recommendations of the council’s own planning officers. The planning consultant says:

“In the case of the JT Hughes/Guttercrest site there is a direct physical and visible link with the town centre along Salop Road.

“The connection and linkage with the town centre will be obvious to all as the town centre can be viewed from the entrance to the site.

“Moreover there are few physical barriers between the appeal site and the town centre with safe walking and cycling being possible without the need to cross major road junctions. This is not the case with the Smithfield proposals.”

Shropshire councillors went against their own planners’ advice when they chose the Smithfield site for the new store.

Officers favoured a rival bid by timber firm Richard Burbidge to build a supermarket in Whittington Road.