THE long wait for a new supermarket in Camelford is one step closer to reality after planning permission was granted by Cornwall Council.

Tesco Stores Ltd have been consulting on proposals for a purpose built supermarket on the outskirts of the town in recent years, with a formal planning application submitted to Cornwall Council in June 2025 for a store on a site to the south of Victoria Road.

The planning approval by officers in the Cornwall Council planning department means that the supermarket now has the green light to begin construction of the new supermarket.

Alongside the erection of the food store will come a petrol filling station, including a jet wash, together with the approval of plans for the provision of car parking, access road, a click and collect facility, a service area to include parking for delivery vans and associated works.

Among the 154 public comments made as part of the planning process, there were 109 comments of support for the proposed Tesco supermarket and 40 objections.

The decision comes merely days after planning agents on behalf of the Co-Operative group continued to object to the proposals.

Pegasus Group, on behalf of the Co-Operative, said on February 19 that they viewed the application as being outside of the development boundary in Camelford, and would thus function as an out-of-centre development with limited benefit to the town itself.

However, this was dismissed by the council’s planning department who concluded: “Officers therefore conclude that there are no retail planning objections to the proposed development and the proposal complies with the relevant requirements of both the development plan and national planning policy.”

The possibility of the supermarket giant arriving in the town has been mooted for well over a decade, with a previous plan in 2012 leading to a mixed response from locals. That proposal would have seen the construction of a supermarket on land formerly occupied by Camelford Primary School on Highfield Road.

While the planning application has been met with approval, there are several conditions attached to the planning permission which must be adhered to before and during the construction phase.

One of those concerns the requirement for a badger survey, which must be undertaken no more than three months prior to submission. Construction cannot take place until the council has approved any necessary mitigation and/or protection measures which are identified by that survey.

Justifying the condition, Cornwall Council’s planning department said that it was in order to ensure that any badgers present on the site are not harmed through ‘inappropriate actions’ if they are present on the site.

Other conditions relate to no development being permitted until detailed plans are submitted and approved relating to the line, level and layout of the access road junction in connection of the A39 on Victoria Road.

There was also a condition relating to the management of construction traffic on the site, associated risk assessments and a variety of other management plans for aspects such as the environment and contamination.