Cinderford Rugby Football Club is backing Tesco in its development battle with the Co-op. Last week, the row between the supermarket giants was re-ignited when the Co-op announced its own plans to help Cinderford and the rugby club in opposition to its rival's scheme. But, Cinderford Rugby Club says it's not interested in working with the Co-op. Commercial manager Matt Bayliss said: "The club is very disappointed the Co-op has unnecessarily delayed the delivery of the new facilities by constantly trying to thwart the new food store planning application. "This delay has put the future development of the rugby club in jeopardy. Cinderford Rugby Club is legally contracted to working with developers Chelverton/Kitto and is not interested in engaging with the Co-op over other potential schemes."
The Tesco development at Dockham Road could pump more than £1million into the town to improve roads and create 300 jobs, while Cinderford RFC would see its plans for a new stadium on land at St White's Farm become reality. Tesco said it has all the necessary land deals in place to proceed as soon as it gets a planning permission. Felix Gummer, Tesco's corporate affairs manager, said: "We have a legal contract with our developers Chelverton/Kitto to build a new food store on the existing rugby ground in Dockham Road. The land needed to relocate the rugby club at St White's Farm is available for immediate use.
"The Tesco scheme is a major driver in the town's regeneration strategy and will give residents a viable alternative when doing their main food shopping. It will bring additional footfall into the town and help town centre shops develop their businesses." Thousands of leaflets were distributed outlining the Co-op plans, to introduce non-food retail stores to the town, as well as a development of the existing Co-op food store and allowing the rugby club to relocate to larger premises. Andy Cresswell, Co-op group general manager, said: "It was something we had been working on. We had not spoken to the rugby club, but we wanted to see people's views to see if it would be a positive second option." The Tesco plans will be looked at by Forest of Dean District Council on December 9.
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