Decision day looms over Newport Morrisons bid
Two days have been set aside in the High Court to decide whether a Morrisons supermarket can be built in Newport.
The court case will take place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
Last year a planning inspector granted Morrisons permission to build a store on disused industrial land in Audley Avenue, but Telford & Wrekin Council is appealing the decision through the courts for a second time.
The council argues that the developers are not contributing enough towards road improvements in the area and that a larger Sainsbury's in Station Road – on fields owned by the authority – would be a better alternative for Newport.
The hearing will take place before Lord Justice Sullivan, Lord Justice Kitchin and Lord Justice Floyd.
The hearing is expected to last 10 hours and the results will be announced about six weeks later.
Councillor Adrian Meredith, a leader of the Save Newport Campaign Group, said he would be surprised if the council succeeded in its latest attempts to thwart the Morrisons application.
He said: "I can't see a High Court judge going against a previous High Court ruling and a planning inspector. Nothing has changed.
"The borough council is just getting desperate."
The outcome is expected to play a major role in the long-running Newport supermarket wrangle.
A date for a public inquiry over the proposed Sainsbury's, which was approved by Telford & Wrekin Council but then halted by the Secretary of State, cannot be finalised until the results of the Morrisons hearing are known.
Telford & Wrekin stands to gain around £21 million in land sales if Sainsbury's is built. Also in Newport there are plans for an Aldi supermarket in Audley Avenue, just metres from the Morrisons site, and a Lidl at Mere Park Garden Centre, both of which are yet to be decided by the local authority.
Councillor Meredith added: "If Morrisons does go ahead, I can see Sainsbury's pulling out.
"I just can't see the point in the public inquiry going ahead.
"It's going to be a big couple of days for Newport."
Morrisons says that its 53,000sq ft new store would create up to 250 jobs and would improve choice in the town.
