BATTLE lines have been drawn up in the store wars being fought by two retail giants.

A consultants' report claims plans to develop a prime site at Newhallhey in Rawtenstall will enhance the whole borough, contradicting a similar report published last year by Rossendale Council's own consultants Hurst Dean Ainsworth Kevill which claimed a second superstore in the town would close down smaller food stores throughout Rossendale.

The new report has been prepared by the Development Planning Partnership on behalf of site owners Hurstwood Developments and retailers Tesco, who are bidding to end Asda's 20-year domination of shopping in Rawtenstall. Both studies are now being considered by Valley planners and council leader Alan Fishwick has promised a decision in August.

The council also plans to build a shopping mall in Rawtenstall town centre once the police station and town hall have been vacated and Asda plans to increase the size of its own store by a third.

Representatives of Rawtenstall Chamber of Commerce are to meet members of the council's ruling Labour group before the next planning committee meeting on July 13.

The Chamber is opposed to the Newhallhey development which also includes three non-food stores selling goods such as furniture and electrical equipment, two fast-food outlets and a petrol station on the grounds that it will pull trade away from the traditional town centre and lead to shop closures. If the Newhallhey plan is approved it will mean major alterations to traffic in the town centre - some funded by Hurstwood and Tesco, some funded by Lancashire County Council.

Tesco has pledged to subsidise a "hopper" bus service for the town centre and nearby housing estates.

The DPP report claims the draw of a big-name store at Newhallhey will encourage investment in the borough and help the council attract other big names to its own shopping mall.

DPP says most of Tesco's trade will come from Asda, which they estimate will lose one-third of its £35 million a year turnover.

But the report also reveals that other major Valley retailers will suffer, with a drop in turnover of 14 per cent by Kwiksave in Rawtenstall, as well as other shops in Ratenstall and Haslingden.

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