by Hayley Robinson

Ambitious town centre revamp proposals will still go ahead despite Tesco pulling the plug on its £110m part of the plan.

Regeneration director Pete Raine says the decision will not stop Swale council and its partner, the Spirit of Sittingbourne consortium, from continuing with the development south of the railway line.

It means a multi-screen cinema, entertainment venue, a cultural quarter and hotel are still on track to be built on The Forum car park site, although there is no timeframe for when work will start on them.

Tesco’s regeneration arm, Spenhill, had planned to build an Extra store at Milton Creek, expand The Forum, which it owns, and construct a bridge linking the sites.

But last week it became one of more than 100 proposed new stores across the country scrapped by the supermarket giant.

The announcement came after the chain revealed it had suffered its biggest ever fall in profits.

Progress on the plans had been on hold since December 2011 due to the Highways Agency raising concerns about possible congestion problems created by the new development.

This was before the opening of the new Morrisons store in Mill Way which has resulted in lights being introduced and traffic problems in and around the retail park.

Mr Raine said Tesco’s decision had not surprised him.

He said: "It will be up to Tesco as landowners to bring forward alternative proposals for the site in due course, and we look forward to working with them to ensure that we maximise the contribution of this strategic site to the regeneration of the town.

"We are relieved that the uncertainty surrounding this proposal has now ended, and that we can in future look at the site with a fresh pair of eyes."

Tesco spokesman John Timothy says the changes in customer shopping habits, downturn in the economy and failure to secure planning consent meant it was no longer viable.

He said: "Having spent many years trying to bring this forward, we are disappointed that we have not been able to follow through with our proposals.

"We will actively explore alternative uses for the site and will be working with Swale council to consider how best this land can be put to use.

"In the meantime, we remain committed to serving our customers through our Metro store in The Forum."