CAMPAIGNERS fighting to prevent Tesco building a £40m superstore look to have claimed victory, after councillors throw out the application.

More than 400 people attended a four-hour planning meeting yesterday at which the proposed store, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, was debated.

Almost 4,000 people had signed a petition objecting to Tesco developing land owned by a group of nuns.

Helen Barker, of the campaign group Whitby Residents Against Tesco (Wrats), called it a victory for common sense.

Yesterday’s meeting of Scarborough Borough Council’s planning committee was held at a college to accommodate the crowd.

After much deliberation, councillors backed the planning officers’ recommendations and rejected the plans, by 11 votes to two, sparking jubilant scenes among protestors.

Objectors said the plans would put local shopkeepers out of business and spoil the character of the seaside resort.

The application included plans for 93 affordable homes and a petrol station, at High Stakesby, on the edge of the town.

Mrs Barker said: “We are absolutely ecstatic – the right decision has been made.

“It was a very long meeting – we did not expect it to go on for as long as it did.

“Committee members considered the application very carefully, and came to what, in so many people’s eyes, is the right decision.”

Describing the moment the decision was announced, Mrs Barker added: “Everybody clapped and cheered, we were all just so pleased.

“I am grateful to everyone who has played their part in the long battle.”

Mrs Barker vowed that Wrats members would be ready to resume the campaign should an appeal be lodged.

Planners also considered two other applications from supermarket companies at yesterday’s meeting. A proposal to extend the Co-Operative store was approved.

Plans for a Sainsbury’s store were also approved, subject to 25 conditions, despite being recommended for refusal by planning officers.

High hopes for bridge repair

HOPES remain high that the jammed swing bridge which has cut a town in two will be operating again later today.

The western and eastern halves of Whitby have been virtually cut off from each other since Wednesday last week when the bridge over the Esk stuck in the open position.

New gearbox components which were flown in from Italy were being fitted to the historic structure yesterday.

These will be fully tested today in conjunction with other systems on the bridge including hydraulics and electrics. If all goes well the bridge may be operating normally by the late afternoon.

In the meantime a free shuttle bus service is running every seven minutes to keep the two banks connected and some local ship owners are operating a £1 ferry service.