Tesco to get supermarket nod

esco is the favourite over Sainsbury's to build a multi-million pound supermarket in Wolverhampton, the Express & Star can exclusively reveal.

A leaked document shows council officers are backing Tesco's bid for the 20-acre Raglan Street site in Graiseley - because the company is threatening to shelve its £14 million revamp of the former Royal Hospital site.

The recommendation is likely to outrage Sainsbury's as the retail giant owns 86 per cent of the site and could now be forced to hand it over to rival Tesco, which owns a tenth. Wolverhampton City Council owns the remaining four per cent.

The report states Sainsbury's has more store space than Tesco in Wolverhampton and, while Tesco is promising around 650 jobs in the area, the Sainsbury's development would only bring in around 250.

Tony Wood, head of property services at the council, which is meeting in private tomorrow, said: "It is clear that Tesco are unlikely to carry out their scheme unless they are selected as the operator of the store at Raglan Street.

"Tesco has indicated that if they are not selected they would not be prepared to sell the Royal Hospital site and would seek a more commercially attractive planning permission."

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