The firm, which is thought to be one of the top four supermarket traders in the country, is considering a development at the Twydale Business Park on Skerne Road.

But officials from the company who own the site have insisted that any supermarket development is only a long-term possibility at the moment.
And any new store would not affect existing or future businesses which move to the park.

Tim Whittaker, director of new business for owners Prospect Estates, told the Driffield Post they remained committed to attracting new firms to the site's existing units.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's business as usual," he said.

Talks are due to be held between the supermarket chain and planning officers from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council next week.

But Mr Whittaker said he expected any potential development would take years, rather than months to complete.

He said: "Because we would have to go for a full change of use, there would be a lot of consultation before we can go for any planning application.

"It is very early stages."


He added that a similar development in the north-east had taken three and a half years to complete.

But he believes Skerne Road would be a good site for a new store.
"I think it would be a good location for it. I know there has been a problem in the town with planning and things like that.

"It's close to town, but it doesn't have the problem of horse and cart type roads in the centre of town."

But he added: "It's whether local people want it to be down there."
The Skerne Road site was bought by Prospect Estates in May 2006 and was re-fitted to create 17 units for office and light industrial use.

The site had previously stood empty for 18 months following the closure of the former Grampian Foods factory in December 2004, in which 220 jobs were lost.

Four businesses currently trade from the complex.

"They're happily trading from there. It's working out to be quite a nice estate", Mr Whittaker said.

He added that any new store on the site will not affect any existing traders or firms who take up premises there in the future.