A SUPERMARKET in Hook is looking to expand – just months after a rival chain applied to build a new store in the village.

Tesco wants to expand its 14,000sq ft store in Station Road into industrial land that borders its current site, and will hold a public consultation there from 11am to 7.30pm on Tuesday, December 17.

The supermarket giant says the planned extension will create new jobs and offer a wider range of produce.

The news comes after Sainsbury’s submitted a planning application in May for a new 30,000sq ft store off Reading Road, on a site to the north east of the village that has been earmarked for hundreds of new homes.

Its application included a retail study that said the Tesco store was “overtrading” with customers from Hook and the surrounding villages, and that there was a need for a new superstore.

Hook Parish Council objected to the plan, giving 10 reasons why Hart District Council should reject it, including increased traffic and an “uninspired” building design.

Tesco wrote to the district council in September claiming that the Sainsbury’s plan would affect trade in the village centre and at its own store, and said it had plans to extend its own store.

The district council has yet to decide on the Sainsbury’s proposal.