SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons appears to have scrapped its plans to open a new store in Wallingford.

The former G Stow premises in Lupton Road on the Hithercroft industrial estate, where Morrisons said it would build a 30,000 sq ft store, is now being marketed.

The chain said the situation was currently “under review” but stopped short of saying it has scrapped its plans.

Town mayor Lynda Atkins said residents would be disappointed by the news that the supermarket site had now been put up for sale.

She added: “Not everyone can afford Waitrose, and some people travel to Didcot to shop at Tesco or Aldi.”

In April, Morrisons told South Oxfordshire District Council it would not be ready to start building a new store in Wallingford until 2017 or 2018 at the earliest.

Now the site, which has planning permission for a food store, petrol station and 310 parking spaces, is being marketed for sale by property company Rapleys.

SODC granted planning permission for the new store, which Morrisons said would create 300 jobs, in July 2013.

But on the night the application was approved, John Cotton, now leader of SODC, proposed a condition backed by councillors that the building should have an “excellent” Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method rating.

Morrisons argued against the condition, and lodged an appeal in January, but later withdrew it.

Ms Atkins added: “I always thought it was wrong for John Cotton to say what he did on the night.

“The previous standard had been agreed in good faith with council officers – the change came out of the blue and it looked like trying to pull a fast one.

“I genuinely can’t say if the supermarket would have been built if things had gone smoothly, because Morrisons has not been performing well nationally.

“I’m not blaming John Cotton for us not having a Morrisons, but I do think the process was badly conducted on the night.”

Ms Atkins added she was still keen to see a discount supermarket in the town.

Mr Cotton said: “Clearly Lynda has limited knowledge of the planning process, otherwise she would know that the standard that we required of Morrisons was council policy at the time of the planning meeting.

“Morrisons put the plan in in November 2012 and the Local Plan, which contained the BREEAM standard policy, was adopted in December.

“I think the reality is that Morrisons never had a great intention to build the store there.

“Overall, it’s a shame for Wallingford because Wallingford needs a second supermarket. People in the town deserve a choice.”

Morrisons spokeswoman Sarah Atta said: “We are in the process of reviewing our new store requirements and as part of this process we need to consider all available options. “To help us undertake the review we have appointed property agents to fully explore all possibilities for the future of the Wallingford site. We appreciate that the community is keen to see the site progress and will be in a position to provide an update once we have concluded our review.”