Roads required before opening

Those were the words of Councillor Jonathan Glen, who was due to meet with Sainsbury’s yesterday about their plan to build a supermarket on the corner of the B3349 Griffin Way North and A30 London Road.

Cllr Glen, who represents the village at Hart District Council, spoke after the supermarket giant released results of its public consultation exercise.

It said that out of 1,800 forms sent to homes in Hook and surrounding villages like Hartley Wintney and Odiham, 73 per cent indicated support, with 22 per cent against. In Hook, support for the store was slightly lower, with 68 per cent of 657 responses supporting the plans.

Cllr Glen told The Gazette that there is currently no plan to build a road to connect the new homes with the supermarket, meaning traffic will crowd the B3349.

He said: “This is not about whether people want to have a Sainsbury’s or not, it is about traffic.

“I will not budge until I see a well-organised internal road system which will allow people in the development to go to Sainsbury’s without going on existing roads.”

Sainsbury’s is expected to apply for planning permission in the spring. The company has previously said the 30,000 sq ft store would create 200 jobs – double the size of the Tesco supermarket, in Station Road.

Andrew Pepler, Sainsbury’s regional town planning manager, said: “We are delighted. Results show that the majority of people support a new Sainsbury’s in Hook.”