Developers thought they had the go-ahead for stores in Wells, Fakenham, Sheringham and Cromer in Norfolk.

Now proposals are to be reconsidered because a study concluded there was not enough spending power in North Norfolk to sustain all the supermarkets.

North Norfolk District Council will take the unusual step of reconsidering all four plans on Thursday.

New planning guidance

The most vociferous battle against a new superstore was in Sheringham and lasted 10 years.

Campaigners thought they had lost the fight last year when planners gave Tesco permission to build on site on the edge of the town centre.

As well as the study commissioned by the council which prompted the reconsideration, there is new planning guidance from the government.

This says that when it comes to new supermarkets local councils must now prove the store is needed, that the development is of an appropriate scale and that it will have no unacceptable impact on existing centres.