A NEW shopping floor and cafe at Asda in Highbridge which will take an estimated £1.4million of trade from neighbouring Burnham will go ahead.

The retail giant has received permission from Sedgemoor District Council to install a new mezzanine floor at its supermarket in Caxton Road, which it will use to increase its George clothing range and introduce a cafeteria.

It follows a public consultation held by the store in February which showed ‘overwhelming support’ for the move, but a six-figure ‘contribution’ to help offset the loss of business requested at a planning meeting will not be included.

Overall, the development will increase the stores retail floor space by more than a third, with new jobs also promised - although no definite figure has yet been offered for the number of roles which will be created.

Asda’s estates town planning manager Alan Jones said: “We’re keen to provide more choice and a wider range of goods with wider aisles and more checkouts so that we can continue to provide for our customers’ needs.”

At the initial Burnham and Highbridge Town Council planning meeting in April, Burnham Chamber of Trade representative Alex Turco requested a section 106 contribution of £100,000 to be included with Asda’s own retail impact assessment suggesting the town would lose business to the tune of £1.4million.

Instead, the sale and display of non-perishable goods will be limited to 46 per cent of the store’s retail area, with no financial benefits given.