Northumberland Estates is proposing to build a 30,000 sq ft supermarket on land at the southern edge of the Braid.

But almost 200 responses were returned by people in Amble opposed to the plans. Outline planning permission was granted in May 2009, but householders overlooking the site have launched a fight-back saying local people were not properly consulted by either Northumberland Estates or the county council. They held a public meeting at the end of September to gauge opinions over the development.

For further information please see an article in the Northumberland Gazette, 4th October 2009 and in the Journal Live, 27th October 2009.

In February 2009 Tesco confirmed that it plans to open an Express store in the old Woolworths store in Market Street, Ulverston. although it is unlikely Tesco will need planning permission for change of use it may need planning permission for alterations. Many residents think Tesco does not fit the town’s traditional market town image and are also concerned it will dominate trade and smaller independent traders will suffer. For more information please see an article in the News & Star, 17th February 2009.

On the 8th April, the North East Evening Mail reported that South Lakeland District Council had approved four applications from Tesco to change the shop front, fit an illuminated fascia and projection sign, air-conditioning units and condenser.

In Newcastle the NHS is selling the site of the General Hospital and Tesco and the University hope to take it over. Many residents feel that a new Tesco store is not needed, as there is already an Iceland, Netto, Tesco Metro and Morrisons within a mile or so of the proposed site. 

An outline planning application was submitted in July 2008. On the 20th February 2009, the Evening Chronicle reported that planning officers are recommending Councillors refuse the application, and on 27th February 2009, Newcastle City Council's Development Control Committee refused planning permission for the site. The Committee rejected the applications as they were considered to be fundamentally flawed and ill thought out in terms of timing, size and design. Councillors agreed with the planner’s recommendation that the proposal would negatively impact on the local environment, the heritage and character of the area, residents, shops and business in the West End of Newcastle. Please see an article in the Chronicle Live, 28th February, 2009.

A new application for the site is due to be submitted in May or June 2010. A community consultation was held on the 22nd and 23rd April.

The small town of Hebburn, one of three urban centres in South Tyneside (total population 151,000) has been selected by the Council as the place for a "large supermarket" to address overtrading at Morrison's which is two miles down the road, and give more "choice" between several other stores which are at a similar distance.  The aim, also, is to stop "retail leakage" from the town.

Currently (August 2010) the Council and Tesco Plc are deadlocked and Asda which owns the leasehold on the site has come up with a proposal for a new 1500 m2 supermarket, within the existing shopping mall which is very run down.  The Alliance supports this proposal as a stop-gap, while seeking proper and sympathetic redevelopment of the whole.  This proposed small scale development could in fact be integral to the redevelopment of the rest of the site, and in our view the proposed 1500m2 size is ample for the foreseeable future together with other shops and stores.  Existing tenants can stay, and the future for local traders should be much improved.  This begs the question of what to do about the rapacious so-called "preferred developer".

In 2008 Tesco announced plans for a 20,000 sq foot store on the edge of Morpeth, on Coopies Lane Industrial Estate. The Morpeth and District Chamber of Trade is opposing the proposals on the basis that they are on the outskirts of the town rather than in the town centre, and that they could have a significant adverse impact on businesses in the town. For further information, please see local media coverage from 15th September 2008.

In March 2009 the Morpeth Herald reported that both Tesco and Sainsbury's are progressing plans for new stores near Stobhill.

In June 2010 Tesco and Sainsbury's were both refused planning permission for stores in Morpeth at a special meeting of Northumberland County Council's North area planning committee on Monday 14th June. Councillors accepted the arguments of local people and planning officers that the Tesco and Sainsbury's bids for out-of-town sites would harm the centre of Morpeth. Please see an article in Morpeth Journal Live 16th June 2010.

Since 2003 seven large retail applications have been received for Berwick in north Northumberland. The town is small and geographically quite isolated. It currently has a single out-of-town supermarket, a Morrisons, which opened 15 years ago, decimating town-centre food retailing. Now that town-centre trade is just starting to recover, Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council has given permission for an out of town Tesco, an adjacent retail park, and a 50% extension to Morrisons. Two other applicants, including Asda, appealed against these plans, and a mammoth five-way public inquiry started in 2007. On the 16th January 2008 Tesco's proposals for a new store were finally given the green light by the Planning Inspecorate to build a new store in Berwick.

However, according to an article in the The Journal on the 4th March 2008, the Co-op has confirmed it plans to appeal to the Secretary of State over the decision to let Tesco open in Berwick. The Co-op is requesting the Secretary of State, Hazel Blears, re-opens the public inquiry on Tesco's proposals. In an article in The Journal on the 5th April 2008 Hazel Blears confirmed she will look again at the decision.

However, in December 2008 the Secretary of State, Hazel Blears, gave the green light to Tesco's plans. Please see an article in the Newcastle Journal, 17th December 2008.

In 2007 residents and shop owners in Harrowgate Hill, Darlington, began campaigning against plans for a Tesco Express store to be opened. The campaigners went round door-to-door collecting signatures and encouraging people to write to the Council if they objected to the proposal for a Tesco Express. Thanks to these efforts, the council received 521 objection letters and a petition with over 900 names. As it would be a store over 100 sq m, need must be established but the area already has 4 convenience stores, 2 bakers, a butcher, a newsagent and 2 smaller stores.

On Wednesday 30th May 2007 the Planning Committee refused the application on grounds including no quantitive need for the store; traffic and car parking and the wishes of the local residents. For more information, please see the local media coverage.

However, on 21st September 2007 Tesco submitted revised plans (although the store size remained the same) designed to overcome the refusal reasons. There was strong opposition to the new plans: the council received 331 letters of objection and a petition signed by over 500 people. On the 12th December Councillors refused the application. Planning officials put forward five reasons to refuse the application, including:

- It would be contrary to planning guidelines about out of town shopping.
- Tesco had failed to demonstrate the need for the store.
- Tesco had also failed to show the store could not be built elsewhere.
- The plans would lead to a reduction in consumer choice because other shops may close.
- The store would generate extra traffic.

For further information please see the Northern Echo 12.12.07. And according to an article in the Northern Echo on the 9th January 2008 Tesco have put the site up for sale.

In 2007 Tesco withdrew plans for a 30,000 square foot store in Guisborough. More than 1,000 local people had objected to the plans, despite the fact that consultation period ran over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The owner of a local bookshop was the organiser of the biggest protest, collecting 850 signatures on a petition. A separate petition of 100 signatures was handed in by the Priory Bistro. The main theme shared by most of the objections was that this thriving shopping centre, which has a good mix of local businesses and national chains, would be turned into a ghost town by a "one-stop" superstore.

Tesco proposed a development in Darlington town centre in partnership with the Council. The plans involved Tesco building a store on the site of the existing Town Hall and bus depot and providing a replacement town hall. The community joined a Say No To Tesco campaign formed by local traders. On 30th October, after finding that the majority of the community did not want this plan, the Council announced that it would not proceed with the plans, and on 27th November 2006 the Council voted unanimously against the plans.

In Sunderland, Tesco’s ownership of the site of the former Vaux Brewery caused problems for Sunderland City Council in promoting its own plans for the land. Sunderland's Local Plan backs use of the land for employment and housing, in line with proposals submitted by regeneration company Sunderland Arc.

In March 2009, Mountview Securities, a developer who owns land at Sunderland Retail Park in Roker submitted an application for a massive new Tesco store and 1,000 car parking spaces on the site. For more information please see the Sunderland Echo, 30th March 2009. However, in in June 2010 Tesco confirmed it will now focus on its plans to build a supermarket at Sunderland Retail Park, Roker and is expected to submit a revised planning application in the near future.

Tesco also announced it has agreed to sell the Vaux site to One NorthEast (Regional Development Agency) so that it can develop the former brewery site into a thriving business district. Please see an article in the Sunderland Echo, 21st June 2010.

Tesco opened a large “Extra” format store in Hexham in August 2005. Beforehand, many groups in Hexham were opposed to the development and tried to stop it. The Hexham Civic Society and many residents were concerned about the impact of local traders, as Hexham is a town with a large number of independent shops, and about the impact on traffic. Hexham Community Partnership developed a 3-year “action plan” about how the town could survive Tesco. Since the opening of Tesco, residents have been concerned about how well the town’s independent traders will survive.