Retail giant Sainsbury’s has dropped a bombshell on Bingley by suddenly shelving plans for a desperately-needed store in Main Street.

The scheme to demolish the former Bradford & Bingley headquarters and replace it with a 40,000 sq ft superstore has now been officially put on ice until the economic climate thaws – to the anger and dismay of community leaders.

Andrew Sanderson, Sainsbury’s regional development manager said:“I can confirm that the site in Bingley is not included in our 2013/2014 construction programme.

“Since investing in Bingley with the purchase of the Bradford & Bingley Building Society offices, the economy has worsened and therefore had a serious impact on the viability of the project. We are therefore unable to include Bingley in our 2013/2014 construction programme.

“We appreciate that this will be disappointing news for many people and would like to thank again all the people who supported us with our application. This support was greatly appreciated.

“We keep the situation under regular review and will ensure that updates are available to the local community as the situation develops.”

Bingley Chamber of Trade chairman Howard Martin said many people would question if Sainsbury’s word could now be trusted He said: “It appears we’ve been led up the garden path all along. I heard this might happen two weeks ago, but when I asked Sainsbury’s, they officially denied it.”

Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, said: “It doesn’t sound good to me. It sounds to me as though they are on the verge of pulling the plug. I think there is a chance they will be abandoning any plans for a store in Bingley at that site.
“It is extremely worrying and I will be seeking a meeting with Sainsbury’s at the earliest opportunity.”

Ward Councillor David Heseltine (Con, Bingley) said it was “mightily disappointing news”.

Councillor Simon Cooke (Con, Bingley Rural) said: “A lot of people worked hard alongside Sainsbury’s and have been rewarded with endless delays and I really can’t see it getting any better.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s executive member for employment, skills and culture, maintained a hopeful note: “We are obviously very disappointed to hear this news from Sainsbury’s, but we will continue to work with them to encourage them to make the development happen as soon as possible,” she said.