Planning officials investigating complaints about the height of Tesco’s new store in Queensbury say construction work is being carried out in accordance with planning permission.

Residents had claimed the supermarket in Brighouse Road was being built 8ft taller than approved by Bradford Council’s planning panel last year.

But planning officers have visited the development and found it to be within regulations set out by the authority.

A Bradford Council Planning spokesperson said: “We have visited the site and are satisfied that the overall height of the building is in accordance with that approved by the planning panel.

“The applicant made some further amendments to the scheme which were approved by planning officers under delegated powers.

“We are in discussions with the developer regarding some details of the scheme.”

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, leader of the Conservative Group, has criticised the way in which the Council granted planning permission for the scheme and said not enough attention was paid to residents’ views.

She said: “When permission to build the store was signed off in May, there appears to have been too much attention paid to the overall planning decision.

“There should have been more focus on the finer details of the application.

“Then in July planning officers used delegated powers to grant Tesco permission to amend the proposals that had been approved by the full planning committee.

“The planning system has a duty to balance the needs of the developer with those of the surrounding community and it is apparent to colleagues and I that in this instance the residents of Regent Street, Albert Street, Victoria Street and others do not feel that their amenity values have been given due consideration.

“Having been on a site visit to the area, I agree strongly with residents living in the surrounding streets that the council has badly let them down.”

Councillor Michael Walls (Con, Queensbury) said: “I do think there are some things that need to be referred to back to the planning committee.

“I know there are delegated powers and matters that can be decided by officers but we need to insure that nothing of major impact is decided by officers without giving the public chance to object.

“It’s been approved and we shall have to suffer the consequences.”

Councillor David Robinson, area planning panel chairman, said: “I am quite prepared along with Julian Jackson, director of planning at Bradford Council, to meet with the residents and go through the plans.

“There’s nothing to hide, we need transparency on this.”