THE planning applications for the proposed Tesco and Sainsbury's supermarkets will be heard in Whitby and not Scarborough, the council has confirmed.
And you can have your say on this story at the bottom of this page.The authority says it has taken the unusual step in light of the "high levels of natural concerns" of residents.
The planned extension to the Co-op will also b
e heard in Whitby.
Scarborough Borough Council said it would enable as many local people as possible to attend the meetings and hear first hand the discussions and reasons that led to the decisions.
It added some concerns have also been raised locally about the possibility of both supermarkets ending up with a presence in the town.
When asked about this, Coun Derek Bastiman, cabinet member for regeneration and planning said: "It is not possible to say at this stage that only one planning application will be granted.
"There is also a current application for an extension to the Co-op store, which will need to be taken into account.
"All applications will be considered in the light of current government guidance, the current development plan and with reference to the Scarborough Borough Retail Study prepared in December 2007.
"Each application will be considered on its planning merits.
"It is not good planning practice to consider applications on a 'first come first served basis' as this approach would be likely to lead to a judicial review."
The council also confirmed it has employed a planning consultant and a retail expert to assist with the Sainsbury's application and the pending Tesco application.
This is due to an unusually high number of very complicated major applications being received by the authority and a shortage of senior staff with the experience to deal with them.
Coun Bastiman added: "The department often has to call in the services of experts, in this case on retail impact, as such expertise would be both unnecessary and too costly to provide on a full-time basis in a small borough council like ours.
"Officers need to use this expertise in making recommendations to members of the planning committee and to ensure that all areas of an application are fully explored, thus protecting the planning authority against any accusation of not making fully balanced and informed decisions, which could then be open to judicial review."
The council is not yet in a position to say when the applications will be heard, but it is in continual discussions with both applicants.
The Tesco application has not yet been submitted, but the council has been in pre-application dialogue for some months and expects an application in the near future.
It is also intended to hold a public exhibition displaying the plans for all three supermarkets in a central Whitby location to enable as many local people as possible to make comments.
