DROITWICH Spa's indoor market hall is set to be bought out as part of a £1m deal to make way for a supermarket.

Wychavon District Council has earmarked £875,000 to buy the hall and £125,000 to purchase Special Occasions, in Gurneys Lane, the Advertiser can reveal.

Years of speculation about a store replacing the market have been confirmed by publication of Wychavon's capital funding programme.

Droitwich Property Company has owned the market since 1996.

Bosses have been in discreet talks with the council and retailer Waitrose for nearly five years.

Director of Droitwich Property Company Stuart Larnder was stunned by the public report's content because the council had always been keen for involved parties not to comment on the discussions.

He told the Advertiser: "We have made no final agreement nor signed any contracts. It's business as usual here."

Mr Larnder believes Wychavon will need to buy more land to complete the project.

Councillors agreed to set aside cash at meetings behind closed doors this month and in July.

A Wychavon spokeswoman said: "The project has never reached this stage before.

"Because the council is buying the property, it has a legal obligation to make the details public."

She confirmed if the proposal is successful, alternatives to ensure market facilities are maintained in the town will be considered.

Waitrose director of development and services Nigel Burton said: "Our intention is to construct a new branch and car park on the market site and part of Gurneys Lane."

He confirmed a planning application would be submitted to Wychavon shortly.

Cllr Pam Davey (Con, Droit.South) said: "It's no secret the council is anxious to attract a major food retail outlet.

"I'm sure people would expect action to facilitate this objective.

"The fact this has been placed in the public domain demonstrates the open-ness of council dealings."

Cllr Peter Pinfield (Lab, Droit.West) was disgusted that discussions had been held in private and said: "It's about time the public was told what is going on.

"The authority is looking at the wrong location - we need a huge superstore and this site is not big enough."