Feel the need to break cover on this one.

Speculation is rife on this subject and who knows who is correct.

However as someone who works for a large supermarket I feel able to comment.

The issue is not whether a Supermarket will be built in Cas or by whom but which site gets the nod first - because it will be the only one that will be built - end of.

There is already an ASDA in Cas - I don't think there is enough trade in Cas to justify a second but it's probably worth it in terms of turnover and market presence for a punt from another chain.

What won't happen is a third supermarket on the Wheldon road site if they lose out this time. No way will any of the Supermarkets build a store to run at a loss and it will as Cas is simply not big enough to maintain three large stores. Wakefield itself only has two large and two medium stores and one of those is losing money!

Newmarket is our last hope IMO as most on here seem to agree - it's about time Cas fans realised that they are in the same boat and they are already missing a paddle. This ridiculous naivety and blindness to reality is becoming tiresome. The clock is ticking for both of us.

Cas town centre is crying out for a new supermarket. Asda is always packed and isn't big enough. Population wise Cas should have 2 large format supermarkets at least. One at Glasshoughton (Asda) and another in the town centre.

There are two sites I've heard mentioned regarding a new retail store, the Nestle site just down the road from WR and a site next to the Burberry factory by the level crossing.

That's not the debate - it's whether it needs a third should WR not be the winner - answer is no. I think you have a very inflated idea as to the size and needs of Castleford if you think it requires three large Supermarkets, come on be realistic.

Would you say WR is in the town centre? I wouldn't.

Very true which is why yet another delay can't be a good thing in any way, shape or form. If the rumours are true and Tesco fancy another site with another developer then, by the time the 3 to 4 month period that Opus are quoting is up, you would have expected movement on the alternative site and the WR plan will then be struggling. If they wanted WR they would have already signed up to stop another supermarket getting a foothold in the area and you can bet your bottom dollar if they do want an alternative site they won't be hanging around to give Opus a chance to find another tenant for WR.

All this shows just how hard it is in the current climate to get a new stadium, or any development for that matter, built. Newmarket is everything to the future Wakefield, just as GH is to Cas. Lets hope after years of false hope and rejection we finally get the good luck we need.

Why would the nestle site be more preferable it would have no advantage over WR but would not have the council and community backing that WR has and so be more likely to get rejected or get called into PI.

The fact that one site has a petition in support of it means nothing if there is no planning application put in on it. Only if the two sites went up against each other would it maybe hold sway, although the planning would be judged on each sites individual merits first. The backing would make no difference as to whether the plans get called in, if they want a PI on it they will have one, if not they won't.

I just heard it mentioned in comparisons with WR with respect to their properties. Whether or not its preferable I don't know.

Good luck to them.
For the genuine CT fans, may of whom I teach & work with I really hope they don't end up being lead down the garden path. Any WTW fan who felt as crippled as I did when Thornes Park fell through shouldn't wallow in anyone else's pain.

As we all know the pace isn't being set by themselves, their developers or even central government, all of whom tend to work to set timescales. Their fate is in the hands of Tescos. The native biggest company in the land! They work in line with the markets, moving only when it best suits them. This is a worse scenario than a PI IMO. After they sign a supermarket they still have to form an application, put it to consultation, get it past the council & and the regional office without it resulting in a PI. Not a great place to be in.

Although as the next few days unfold I think we'll discover Tescos have more to do with NM than we think: IA did promise an early Christmas present. Now I'm not saying that's what it is, but I am insinuating that's part of what it COULD be.

As far as Neverdid goes; I'll have a momentary chuckle!

COULD it be a huge part of Tesco's distribution hub?

It appears to me that the possibility of delays now could be a problem for cas, other sites, other supermarkets, objectors etc etc.
What it doesn't prove though is that it won't still happen, and anyone who says another supermarket or two cant be developed at once or in close proximity clearly doesn't understand the power of the supermarkets.
Look at Wakefield, Tesco's sniff around mention they want the old Sainsburys site, Sainsburys kick off and Wakefield ends up with a new Tesco and ANOTHER Sainsburys all within a mile of the city centre, on the same road, and i would argue that the people of Wakefield don't need either.

The council are backing WR, its in their interest GH gets built, it will be alot easier to build with council backing.

Not yet it hasn't. The planning application has been in since August and probably won't be heard for a couple of months at least, developments of this nature are nortoriously slow. No guarentees it will get passed either as it doesn't meet the councils own plans for the area.

And the two Sainsburys?

The fact that they are always jammed, implies Wakefield can clearly handle two big supermarkets