A DEVELOPER blocked from bringing big name retailers and 200 jobs to Trowbridge in a £35m scheme is to fight to take the project ahead.

Parkridge Developments was refused planning permission for the scheme at the former Wincanton site in Bythesea Road last month. This week it announced it is to take West Wiltshire District Council to appeal.

Managing director Philip O'Callaghan said: "There is a huge amount of retail interest in Trowbridge but I think they are getting frustrated that schemes keep being proposed and then not happening.

"If we are going to get names like Next, Arcadia, Debenhams and even a bigger Marks and Spencer then you have to provide a very, very high quality product."

Mr O'Callaghan said he feels the council was reluctant to support the scheme because of the expected, but long-delayed, development on the former Tesco site in St Stephen's Place.

That plan, by Jersey-based Thyian Investments, was put on hold after the demolition of the existing building nine months ago, leaving a huge pile of rubble nicknamed Mount Crushmore.

Mr O'Callaghan said: "We did feel that there was far too much hope put into this scheme happening and that the planning authority was generally happy with our scheme as long as the other one happened first. But we are here and ready to go and we are very keen on Trowbridge. This is in our development framework to go ahead next year, but we need the support of the local authorities."

Thyian, which also has planning permission to redevelop Castle Place, had originally given a completion date of this Christmas for the mixed retail, leisure and housing scheme at St Stephen's Place.

The firm has since confirmed it hopes to start work at the former Tesco site in the spring and denied rumours there are financial reasons behind the delay.

The district council turned down the Parkridge plan on the grounds that the developer did not provide enough detail in the application for outline planning permission.

Parkridge's proposal is for up to 7,000 sqm of retail space, 1,200 sqm of office space, 70 new homes and up to 240 parking spaces on the site, formerly occupied by Wincanton, which moved its headquarters to Chippenham last year.

The company, which operates across Europe, has completed more than £250m worth of schemes in the UK in the past five years, including the redevelopment of Brighton marina, and Mr O'Callaghan said this would be the first time the firm had gone to a planning appeal.

"We are not a contentious outfit. We go for schemes where we know something is going to happen and where we want something to happen and we are very, very disappointed," he said.

Mr O'Callaghan said he still hoped issues could be resolved with the district council and added that a new planning application will be submitted before an appeal goes ahead.