MORRISONS' plans to expand it's Oxted supermarket look set to be turned down – despite 60 letters of support from the neighbours.
Planning officers have said the chain should not be allowed to extend the East Hill store by 2,500sqm, more than 50 per cent.
Tandridge District Council will make a decision on the application tonight, but a ten-page report cites "significant harm to the character of the area" and "disturbance for residents" as reasons to reject it.
It also says the planned 20 extra parking spaces will not meet the needs of the store and of Oxted town centre.
About 100 residents have objected to the proposals.
But – more unusually – 60 have sent letters to the council in support of the expansion.
And speaking on behalf of the supermarket, property asset manager John Robson has said Morrisons is "baffled" by the planning department's recommendation for refusal.
He said: "We are bitterly disappointed with Tandridge District Council's recommendation to refuse the proposed extension to our Oxted store.
"The Surrey County Council's highway department has found no fault with our parking proposals, and we are therefore baffled as to why officers have confirmed this as one of the reasons for recommending refusal.
"The store is very popular and very busy, resulting in a cramped and frustrated shopping environment. More space is needed to provide our customers with the shopping environment they deserve."
Mr Robson said "extensive consultation" had taken place with officers, councillors and residents, and claimed 89 per cent of the public who visited the public exhibition in July supported the scheme. He added that he thought the store was an "anchor for the existing town centre".
"If we are forced to stand still, the existing problems will continue to deteriorate and there is a real danger that shoppers will vote with their feet and choose to travel out of Oxted for their shopping, to competing centres such as Redhill and Edenbridge where there are plans afoot for improved facilities," he said.
"It's now up to the elected members of the planning committee to recognise the overwhelming sentiment of local residents and overturn the officer's recommendation."
The planning application will be discussed tonight (Thursday) from 7.30pm at the Tandridge District Council offices, in Station Road East.
The report, written by chief planning officer Piers Mason, also says extension will cause "significant loss of amenity to residents adjoining the site on East Hill".
