Asda has dramatically been refused permission for a new superstore in Norwich.

Norwich City Council's planning committee today decided to refuse permission for the store at the old Bally Shoe Factory site in Hall Road, which Asda bosses said would have created 300 jobs.

But the committee decided by five votes to four to reject the scheme, saying the superstore was too dominant for a district centre, the plans did not make best use of a brownfield site, protected trees would be removed, and pedestrian access was not good enough. Another reason for refusal was the dominance of the car park.

The store would have had a net floor space of 3,406 square metres and would have formed part of a new district centre, also including a pub, a community centre, a gym, a 334-space car park, four industrial units and four units which could have been used for retail, takeaways or cafes.

Representatives for Chapelfield Shopping Centre had also raised concerns the development could threaten the vitality of the city centre.

While officers at City Hall said the level of floor space in the superstore would be 'disproportionately large', they said councillors had to balance their decision with the other economic and community benefits the development would bring.

Asda had said up to 300 jobs would be provided within the superstore, and a further 125 over the rest of the development.

The scheme had been backed by a number of families who live in nearby Tuckswood and Lakenham, who were looking forward to the jobs it would create and having a superstore on their doorsteps.

Asda, which held public exhibitions on the plans last December, had said the proposals include much more than just providing a superstore and would regenerate a 'significant location' in the city.

As reported in the Norwich Evening News, the development plans for the area were put on hold for several years after the recession put an original �122m plan for the Harford Place site on hold.

See tomorrow's paper for the full story.