Tesco drops plans for long-awaited Stirchley store

Tesco said the decision to drop the plans was "not taken lightly"

Tesco has dropped plans for a supermarket in Birmingham - 19 years after it was first proposed.

The supermarket giant says it has made the "difficult decision" not to go ahead after a "detailed review".

Traders close to the Stirchley site had previously criticised the wait and said some businesses had moved to make way for it, leading to a decline in trade.

In December, Lidl was granted planning permission to open a new branch in nearby Pershore Road.

Matt Davies, chief executive officer at Tesco UK & ROI, said the decision to not open on the site was "not taken lightly".

See more stories from across Birmingham and the Black Country

Steve McCabe MP said the news was a blow to the community

A Tesco spokesperson said market conditions in Stirchley and the retail sector more broadly "continue to be challenging".

"In this context we have reviewed the plans for the store in Stirchley looking at a number of factors and have taken the difficult decision to not continue with the opening," they said.

Selly Oak MP Steve McCabe said the news was a blow to the community.

He said: "People have lost their homes, small businesses have gone, we've lost a bowling alley, we've lost a community centre. There's been quite a heavy price paid by the community and now they've been left with a dirty big derelict site."

Mr McCabe added he would be having further discussions with Tesco about the decision and added: "It seems to me that the decision to approve the Lidl store at the nearby Fitness First site is the last straw."

Mr Davies added: "We are grateful for the support that has been shown for our plans over the years and our priority now will be to ensure the site is sold so that it can play a positive part in Stirchley's future development."