Councillor Roger Price thinks the firm is being given special treatment in its bid to get planning permission to build a huge new superstore in Fareham.

He spoke out as Tesco was given outline planning permission to build affordable housing in the town, which it agreed to do in return for opening the store, ahead of the second planning application to build the shop.

Cllr Price, who is on the borough council's planning committee, is furious that Tesco has been granted extra time to build the homes and will be able to build over large sections of a car park, and feels the bid to build the homes and the shop should have all been considered together.

Despite his anger the committee granted outline permission for between 30 and 55 flats next to the old foundry site earmarked by Tesco for the new supermarket. Officers recommended giving the company five years for the development to take place, rather than the normal three, because the housing will not be built until after the store.

Tory council leader Sean Woodward has made no secret in the past of his desire to bring the company into the town centre, but Lib Dem group leader Cllr Price objected to the time extension and the plan to reduce a council car park from 50 spaces to 30 to create a new access road off Bath Lane.

He said: 'It seems to me that this application is premature until the application for the main store has been sorted out.

'We seem to be bending over backwards with reducing the car park and extending the time limit to five years – we shouldn't be giving Tesco special treatment.'

Councillor Jim Murray also opposed the proposal: 'I believe that the two parts should be developed together – we should be able to look at the whole site.'

The scheme was approved by six votes to three. A full application covering the actual number of flats and the design will be submitted soon.

The planning application for the main store is still subject to discussions between the supermarket firm and the Highway Agency over how best to alleviate traffic problems around the Quay Street roundabout and the A32.

chris.broom@thenews.co.uk