Tesco has announced it has withdrawn its planning application for the Spenhill site in Tolworth.
The proposal included a new supermarket, a 99-bed hotel, parking spaces and housing.
Robert Munoz, Tesco’s head of corporate affairs, said: “We are disappointed the application was recommended for refusal. We have reluctantly decided to withdraw the application for our Spenhill site in Tolworth.”
In a planning sub-committee meeting in January many residents of Tolworth gave voice to their anger over Tesco’s latest proposal.
Their main worries were how another superstore would affect the traffic on the A3, the level of air pollution and noise, as well as losses for smaller businesses in Tolworth.
A decision on the application was expected for later this week.
However, since the planning sub-committee had recommended to refuse the application, Tesco pulled its proposal today.
It is not the first time the supermarket chain applied to build on the site that was bought by the company in 2002.
Robert Munoz said that Tesco will develop “something” there “at some point” but that there are no concrete plans for a new application yet.
He said: “We know how important this site is to Kingston’s future. Our commitment is to delivering something that works for the community and we will continue to consult and review what’s best for Tolworth.”
Image courtesy of REX Features.
