TESCO has not given up on its plans to build a Skipton supermarket twice as big as the existing store.

The retailing giant had its plans to demolish the Craven Street outlet and put a larger replacement store in its place, along with a new car park, knocked back by Craven District Council last year.

But the company has now lodged an appeal against the authority's decision and this will be looked into by a Government planning inspector.

It is the latest twist in Tesco's endeavour to develop its town store, which has been there since the 1980s.

In April 2002 the council granted consent for an extension on the existing store, but this was never carried out.

Tesco decided the layout of the proposed two-level car park would cause problems and therefore a replacement store and revised car park would be the way forward.

In early 2005 the company, which is Britain's leading supermarket, lodged its plans to replace the store with a new larger building with a better range of products, improved toilets, a caf and the chance of around 90 extra jobs.

The plans did not reveal its intentions for the petrol station and did not reveal whether it intended to purchase the former Esso filling station on Keighley Road, which is currently vacant.

A host of organisations had their say on the proposed store.

Among others, Christ Church School, Skipton Town Council, Skipton Civic Society and English Heritage raised concerns about the plans.

Council planning officers recommended the application be rejected when it was put before a planning committee meeting in November 2005.

Despite a last minute amendment by Tesco to a more traditional design and an offer to reduce the proposed sales space from 3,681 square metres rather than 3,351, it was refused by councillors.

The council decided Tesco had failed to justify the potential retail impact on the town and had not shown that the goods in the store could not be bought in Skipton town centre.

Members also said that insufficient information had been presented to show the plans provided a solution to transport and parking matters.

In addition, the council declared that the proposed design of the store harmed the character around the supermarket and the conservation area.

The council's area planning manager Helen Signol wrote to Tesco after the application was turned down to tell them the council had a strong desire to keep the company in the town as one of its primary retailers but there were a number of issues to resolve before it could support the scheme.

In its appeal, the supermarket challenges the council's grounds for refusal and says the new store would not affect High Street vitality or harm the appearance of the locality.

It also argues that the proposed siting of the building, layout, access and parking are satisfactory.

The appeal will be dealt with by way of a local inquiry and will be chaired by a planning inspector appointed by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

*There have been no developments with the former Esso site on Keighley Road.

In the autumn the Craven Herald reported there was a contractual agreement between Esso and another unnamed company and the site would be sold for continued petroleum sale.

A spokeswoman for Esso said this week that this was still the status quo.