SUPPORT for and against Tesco’s plans to build a superstore in Stretford is neck and next among Trafford residents.

That’s according to town planners who’ve revealed by the end of January it’d received 155 letters objecting to the plans, compared to 156 in favour from residents and businesses based in Trafford.

Support for the scheme, which includes the redevelopment of Old Trafford Cricket Club, rose significantly though when people from outside the borough were factored in, adding another 791 letters of support.

Cricket fans across the northwest have been registering their support on LCCC’s website too, which has so far had 3,721 online pledges - 451 of those were from Trafford-based residents.

But critics, who fear a 170,000 square foot Tesco store would bring traffic chaos to the streets of Stretford and threaten the viability of other traders in the town, described the figures as ‘meaningless’.

“The vast majority of pledges of support from the LCCC’s website are from people who do not live in this area,” said ’no campaigner’ Margaret Westbrook. “We, however, have handed in petitions showing the opposition of over 700 local people to the Tesco element of the application.

“The statistics provided by LCCC are meaningless,” she added. “Most people have signed up to this because they want the Ashes Tests and international matches there.

“People must be made aware that the NoMegaTesco campaign is not against the development of the cricket ground,we’re against the basis upon which the application has been submitted – to build one of the biggest Tesco’s stores in the country. We believe financial support for the development could and should be found from elsewhere.”

But Jim Cumbes, LCCC’s chief executive, said: “We’ve received fantastic support from both the North West’s cricketing community and in particular hundreds of local people in Trafford who appreciate the benefits of this scheme.

“High profile schemes like this traditionally receive significant levels of opposition, so it is tremendous to see that supportive letters outnumber opponents by nearly four to one.”