NEIGHBOURS believe Tesco is now “guaranteed” to open a store on the site of a burnt out pub in Oxford.

The supermarket giant’s latest bid is to turn the Fox and Hounds pub in Abingdon Road into a store, without any extra housing.

People living nearby say this makes it more likely to be approved as change of use permission is not needed. The building already has consent to be used as a shop.

Phil Cross, who runs Fat Phil’s Angling Centre opposite the site, said: “I definitely think that this attempt is more likely to go ahead.

“I can guarantee that Tesco will open a store there.”

But residents fear the nearby Nisa shop will be badly hit by a new Tesco store.

Jane Sherwood, vicar of nearby St Luke’s Church, in Canning Crescent, said: “I don’t think we should give up. Tesco never seems to give up.

“I wasn’t surprised they submitted another application. We are doing the best we can as a community and we will keep fighting.

“There is the potential loss of the post office if Tesco drives the local shop out of business. There is also the issue of traffic.

“I would like to see affordable housing on the site, possibly with a few small shops.”

Jeremy Cook, 49, who lives in nearby Wytham Street, said: “We will keep fighting it. We don’t need another shop.

“There are honest businesses that have been trading here for a long time that could go out of business.”

Tesco has submitted another application which would involve knocking down the existing building and building a store with flats above it.

Three previous attempts to turn the pub into an Express shop have been blocked by Oxford City Council. An appeal was denied by a Government planning inspector in July.

The Fox and Hounds, which is on the corner of Weirs Lane, has been empty since 2007 before being bought by Tesco a year later.

It was then ravaged by fire in 2009.

Tesco’s regional corporate affairs manager Simon Petar said: “Tesco would like to develop a scheme with flats above the shop. We are also prepared to refurbish the building purely as an Express.

City council spokesman Louisa Dean confirmed two planning applications had been received from Tesco. She added they would be “determined in line with the council’s planning guidelines”.