Sainsbury's fear over Reading Ikea traffic

A supermarket has requested a judicial review of plans to open an Ikea in Berkshire, near one of its stores.

Sainsbury's claims a new branch of the Swedish furniture store near Reading would cause problems for customers getting in and out of its car park.

Plans for the £10m store at Pincents Lane Retail Park in Calcot, near junction 12 of the M4, were approved by West Berkshire Council in April.

Ikea said the new store would provide 400 jobs.

'Continuing discussions'

A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "Whilst Sainsbury's have no objection in principle to the Ikea proposal, we remain concerned that the development could have a negative impact on our customers leaving the store at peak times.

"We are continuing discussions with all parties and are hopeful our concern can be addressed."

An Ikea spokesman said the firm had been "delighted" to receive full planning consent from the council earlier this year.

"We are currently in ongoing dialogue with West Berkshire Council and our neighbour Sainsbury's regarding a concern they have raised with the plans for our new store," he said.

"We are hopeful that that the judicial review process will soon be concluded and we are able to continue to make preparations for the development of our new Ikea store."

At the time of the planning decision, Ikea said it would invest £5m in road improvements around the derelict site.