Tesco could be set to build a massive new superstore at Felixstowe as part of a multi-million pound 30-acre development, it can be revealed today.

FELIXSTOWE: Tesco could be set to build a massive new superstore at Felixstowe as part of a multi-million pound 30-acre development, it can be revealed today.

But town centre traders say the project is a “big concern” - and fear the superstore will take their business if residents can buy all they need in one place.

The 60,000 sq ft store would be built on a field north of Walton High Road, along with 250 houses, including sheltered homes for the elderly, a 60-bed hotel, pub, private medical facility, three small shops and three small business units and a waste/energy centre.

There would also be a new road through the site linking High Road and Candlet Road, the Walton by-pass off the A14.

Unused stables will be demolished, and talks will be held with the Felixstowe Rifle Club to find it a new site elsewhere.

The new store will be nearly twice the size of the town's Morrison's.

Tim Collins, a partner in Bidwells, agents for the landowners Trinity College, Cambridge, which owns 3,400 acres on the Felixstowe peninsula, said a planning application for the land behind Treetops would be made in mid-2010.

There is much work to do beforehand and talks are taking place with Suffolk Coastal on a range of issues.

“Nothing is set in stone at this stage. Tesco are the company we are working with,” said Mr Collins.

“This project could develop Walton as a district centre and provide a real focus. If it is carefully done, I think it can contribute to the overall development of this area in a constructive way.

“People will have concerns about the suitability and desirability and that is understandable and we want to know these at an early stage so we can address them.”

Carol Jones, vice chairman of Felixstowe Chamber of Trade, said: “If it is multi-store which sells everything from clothes to electricals, foods to cards and gifts, and so on, it could have a big impact on the town centre and I am sure people will be concerned.

“The big question is why? Tesco's Martlesham store is only ten minutes away, and we already have other supermarkets and a Lidl opening next week. Does a small town of this size need another?”

Should fields be taken for homes and businesses? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk