A DROITWICH pressure group claims Wychavon District Council has tried to bury a planning application to build a supermarket in the town.

Action for Droitwich has criticised Wychavon for failing to consult townspeople about the proposal to build a Waitrose store by the Saltway.

But Jack Hegarty, Wychavon's head of planning, has hit back at the criticism, saying a model has been on display for two weeks and the deadline for comments from the public will be extended.

Action for Droitwich also criticised Droitwich Town Council's planning committee for approving the scheme at a meeting on Monday without having a full town council debate.

The pressure group hoped its concerns would be discussed at the planning committee meeting.

But despite presenting a submission to the committee earlier that day, it was not read out and discussed at the meeting.

"The meeting was a shambles, I can't believe the way they're behaving," said a spokesman for Action for Droitwich.

Town councillors approved the application in principle, on condition the questions raised at the meeting and the questions put forward in Action for Droitwich's submission would be considered by Wychavon.

In its submission, Action for Droitwich claims Wychavon has not allowed enough time to consult with the public or for people to object to the scheme.

"We deplore the fact Wychavon District Council has yet again contrived to bury a major and controversial planning application in the busy run-up to Christmas," the spokesman said.

The group claims the majority of residents would prefer a Tesco, Asda or Morrisons to an "expensive, upmarket chain" like Waitrose.

It has also raised concerns about the size of the car park and asked if it would provide enough spaces for shoppers and the people who already use the car park while High Street shopping.

The group also wants to know if the new building will fit in with the area's character, and what impact this will have on High Street retailers.

A spokesman said: "We believe it's time Droitwich Town Council considered what's best for Droitwich and acted in accordance with the wishes of the majority of people in this town, rather than rubberstamping projects as required by Wychavon."

Mr Hegarty said: "We mounted a full colour public display in the One Stop Shop in Droitwich two weeks ago which will stay there over Christmas and well into the New Year.

"We usually only allow 21 days for people to comment on the proposal but we are happy to allow comments up until mid-January.

"All comments made about the display so far have been favourable."