OPPOSITION to a £1million expansion of Tesco's Stowmarket store has come from the town's civic society.THE Stowmarket Society's concerns come amid fears from independent traders that the town centre is under threat with a number of key shops sites now already empty.

OPPOSITION to a £1million expansion of Tesco's Stowmarket store has come from the town's civic society.

THE Stowmarket Society's concerns come amid fears from independent traders that the town centre is under threat with a number of key shops sites now already empty.

Mid Suffolk Council is considering whether to grant planning permission for Tesco to develop its operation on the large new Cedars Park estate on the edge of the community, near the A14. A decision could come during the summer.

The extension at the site in the middle of the major new housing development would see more than £1 million invested in the site and create more than 50 new jobs at the store to offer a wider range in areas including books, clothing and toys.

Jonathan Pattle, honoury secretary of The Stowmarket Society, said: “The proposal for further development of this supermarket is most unwelcome.”

Tesco hopes to build an extension, a new mezzanine floor with a coffee shop and toilets, as well as developing existing areas to increase the gross overall size of the store from 4,049 square metres gross to 5,562.