Tesco are on record saying they are not exanding quite like they were as they have such a big market share but are putting money into quality as well, so more jobs to have more customer service in good quality stores.

That doesn't mean they would move away from WR option. They are hardly short of cash, just a decision of where to spend.

Another twist in the tail in this on going saga at cas. www.pontefractandcastlefordexpre ... -1-4350608

Another twist in the tail in this on going saga at cas. www.pontefractandcastlefordexpre ... -1-4350608

Is any one else confused by all the goings on in Cas.
Are they saying that there are now 3 possible supermarkets to be built in the town or is it 1 supermarket surrounded by an elaborate smoke screen ?

Your guess is as good as mine. Now I'm really confused, I can't work out if it's good news or bad news for Cas.

All seem to agree that they'll only be one supermarket built in Cas, its just a race to see where that is. And yes the supermarkets will do whats best for them, they always do. They don't tend to give a monkeys about anything else. As for the Hicksons site, I would have thought that is a non-starter due to the extra cost involved, any supermarket will want it to be as cost effective as possible. There are rumours of other sites in Cas and other developers & operators but I feel that they may have left their run a little late. Unless theres been an awful lot of work going on that nobody knows about of course, but that is unlikely. I would guess that in the the next 2-3 month you will see an operator signed up and things starting to move on the planning front. Where that will be remains to be seen but I personally think its between Edinburgh House and somewhere on Wheldon Road. Whoever gets the signature wins the prize.

The land price may well be less, to take into account any clean up operation involved, taking into account that the site may offer more potential (size wise?) it may prove be a more beneficial site in the long run.

The clean up alone would go into the millions, the whole site (plus the field next to it) are contaminated and they would also need to buy the remaining 20 years on the power stations lease.

There's years of work before the thing would even get planning permission, using the Hicksons site would probably take a decade to just lay the foundations.

In the end, there can be only 1!

Only one supermarket will be built in the town - and no-one has any idea where that will be. Up until this week it seemed nailed on that it would be Tesco, but other supermarkets are available!

Just got back to my hotel after being to AAMI Park to see the Melbourne Storm v Sydney Roosters. The almost iconic eggshelled stadium looks quite nice inside (reminds me a bit of the KC). If Newmarket turns out to be close to this then I think we should be very proud.

Once complete, we should then work on a team like Melbourne!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17514730 This makes interesting reading.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17514730 This makes interesting reading.

Doesn't make good reading :/

Can't see how it makes any difference to us. Nobody is saying our development should be built on brownfield land instead. All the objectors wanted it moving but to other greenbelt sites. So as long as its deemed sustainable all is good.

Couldnt resist this, sorry...

I have finally got around to having a look at the new National Planning Policy Framework document from our mate Eric Pickles team at Communities & Local Government.

Fisrtly - Wow! How to make over a 1000 pages of previous planning policy fit into 49 pages! Much more simple for the layman to understand and just well... more simple & straight forward! However, lets wait & see how it actually works in practise, but I do think less detail should put the power firmly in the hands of local planners and planning committees, so more things should get passed and more quickly on suitable & plan allocated sites.

So, what about Newmarket? Well I can see nothing but good news in this document that would yet again indicate that Newmarket is ever more certain to be passed if this is the direction the government are taking planning policy. We must remember that Newmarket is still under the old planning policy framework but in reality, as this site will not actual be 'decided on' until May and, that this new planning policy framework is now in force with immediate effect, then if they turned Newmarket down it would fly in the face of the brand spanking new policy they have just issued and yet again... how stupid would that make them look!

The full document is here - rlhttp://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/2115939.pdfrl and while I would normally say, which you can look at if you are bored or have insomnia, this is actually quite easy and simple top get your head around.

In short, while the document does try to protect unsuitable sites it presumes in favour of development for economic growth reasons. It also put lots of emphasis on local plans (the LDF in Wakefield) that have been or are been drawn up under the 2004 act. As Wakefield has just about completed this, and of course Newmarket is still firmly in the new plan, then again this strengthens the Newmarket site. Also, while Newmarket is still (albeit not for much longer) in greenbelt is favours brownfield & previously developed sites in general, which of course Newmarket is.

All in all, this is yet more positive news and the ducks are lining up nicely!

It is indeed good news for Newmarket and if the LDF gets through ok, which I firmly believe it will, I see no way that Newmarket can justifiably be refused. As stated above, going against their own policy would make the government seem rather stupid. Mind you these are the guys that have in the the last week introduced a granny tax, a tax on pies & pasties and created panic at petrol stations around the country so its not cut and dried yet!

The new policy is also geared to promoting town centres before out of town developments, which creates another hurdle for Wheldon Road to get over. Not insurmountable by any means but is likely to delay the planning process further whilst various surveys and studies are carried out and probably means that should Newmarket be passed then the likelihood of Cas sharing it for a couple of years will be increased.