PLANS for a new supermarket in Churchdown have been withdrawn by retail giant Tesco.

The company says it is now reviewing the proposals – but still hopes to submit a new application to Tewkesbury Borough Council soon.

The news has been welcomed by protestors, who had called for the plans to be scrapped.

They said the store would cause traffic chaos in the area, and would harm the trade of local shopkeepers.

Tesco had hoped to build the new store on the former Hurrans Garden Centre site in Churchdown.

Once completed, the shop, in Cheltenham Road East, would measure 15,000 square feet in floor space and could employ up to 120 local workers.

It would be about half the size of the company's Brockworth superstore.

The company exhibited its initial plans last December.

The retailer is now holding further talks with the Highways Authority to discuss traffic issues.

The company said its own retail study showed a new store would fulfil a need in the area by improving consumer choice and would help Churchdown residents shop locally.

It claimed the new store would not harm local existing shops, and said an independent consultant's advice to Tewkesbury Borough Council supported its findings.

Tesco spokesman Tony Fletcher said: "We are confident that we will be able to resubmit our planning application very soon.

"We look forward to being able to provide a food store in Churchdown, which all the evidence shows will be a benefit to residents and the economy."

Helen Roberts, secretary of the Churchdown Against Tesco Site group, said she was delighted by the news.

She said: "I think Tesco has an awful lot of thinking to do about these plans.

"I do not think they thought through the full extent of the traffic impact, and they are now going away to think it over again.

"I am delighted. I have no doubt that they will come back again, but if they are reconsidering this flawed application, that can only be good news for Churchdown."