SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has come under fire from a senior city planner over its plans for a store in St John's.

Worcestershire County Council has struck a deal with the company, which has agreed to build a new high school outside Dines Green if it wins permission to bulldoze Christopher Whitehead High School and replace it with a store, homes and petrol station.

County councillors said they could not afford to turn down the offer, which could save them having to spend up to £4m on refurbishing the Worcester high school.

But Peter Yates, the city council's head of development planning, was concerned by some features of the plans, copies of which have been sent this week by the city council to people living near the school.

"Just because the county council wants a new school, it doesn't follow that we're going to approve this application," Mr Yates said.

"Worcester City Council is not Worcestershire County Council. The matter is far from cut and dried."

He said he had "lots of concerns".

"Although there's a 76-space car park in Swanpool Walk, the main 361-space car park is only to serve the supermarket whereas Sainsbury's has proposed a walkway through to the shops in St John's," Mr Yates said.

"The footpath through Swanpool Walk's going to be obliterated by the store even though it's well used. Tesco also proposes housing very close to the supermarket and service yard.

"The residents of Withers Road could end up living near a very busy road because Tesco intends to make a through road between Malvern Road and Bromwich Road."

The plans clash with those submitted by Sainsbury's, which wants a smaller supermarket on the site now occupied by the St John's sports centre.

In reply, a spokesman for Tesco said: "We'll be discussing a range of issues with officers in the coming weeks, which will encompass various elements of our proposals for St John's."