SHOP keepers are nervously awaiting the arrival of yet another Tesco Express store in Ipswich.

SHOP keepers are nervously awaiting the arrival of yet another Tesco Express store in Ipswich.

Planning bosses have awarded the supermarket giant permission to move into the former Racecourse Pub site in Nacton Road.

But the new development, which will include a Tesco Express store and five new homes, has raised concern among independent shop owners in the area.

In granting consent for the development, council planners felt the new shopping units would “add to the variety of uses within the shopping area, without prejudicing its essential character.”

The council meanwhile refused to allow telecommunications company O2 to erect a 12.5m mobile phone mast on the same site, saying it would “stand out in its low rise surroundings as a prominent unattractive structure.

Shop owner Stephen Kay, of Kay's Greengrocer, has been a fixture of Nacton Road for the last 25 years.

He said: “Obviously it's not good news. I wouldn't say it's an enormous concern for me but it will cut the throats of other more general stores.

“When an Aldi went up near our Meredith Road shop it actually brought more people to the parade but with a Lidl already nearby, the arrival of Tesco will affect business for not only shops in Nacton Road but also those in Queensway and Reynolds Road.

“As a small shopkeeper it is impossible to compete with a brand like Tesco. The volume of trade the take from smaller businesses will crucify them.”

Does Ipswich need another Tesco store? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk