A public inquiry will be held into Braintree Council’s decision to refuse plans for a massive new supermarket in Braintree.

Braintree Council threw out Sainsbury’s proposals for the new site on the Broomhills Industrial Estate in November, despite a petition of almost 2,000 signatures supporting the plans.

Councillors argued that the proposed store would have a detrimental impact on trade in the town centre, with David Manning adding: “If you want to continue to have a town full of charity shops this is probably the best way to go about it.”

Now the supermarket giant has referred the decision to a planning inspector with the hope of getting it overturned.