A NEW leisure centre has attracted more than five times more support than a supermarket as a possibility for a high street development, survey results show.

Epping Forest District Council has published the long-awaited initial results of its consultation into how the former St John’s Primary School building and surrounding area in Epping should be redeveloped.

They show that of 826 people who were asked to tick the five most important issues for the town, 535 said better sport and leisure facilities were one of the main priorities for the area.

But only 95 said a supermarket, which was put forward as an option, would be among their top choices.

Protection of historic buildings was an important issue for 401 people and 382 said development should reflect the scale of buildings already in the area.

Other priorities ranking higher than a supermarket included providing a new library, affordable houses and more parking.

St John’s Road resident Steven Harding, 37, who has campaigned against a supermarket, said: “It’s fantastic to see how many people have supported improved leisure and sport facilities and how strong the feeling is against large retail.”

But he said it was worrying that the council’s contractors, Allies and Morison Urban Practitioners, had insisted in their report that a “food store” may be needed to make the development viable.

“There’s no evidence of that,” he added. “The council’s own traffic management study showed a new store would bring no new trade.”

In another section of the questionnaire, which was conducted in March and April, the contractors asked if people agreed with a set of “core project principles.”

These included the idea that new buildings should blend in with the existing ones, streets should be “high quality” and the development should “make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity for the town.”

Nearly 480 agreed, but the contractors said many people had written comments that did not fit in with the principles they listed and so “may not have answered the question accurately.”

Anne Grigg, the district council’s asset management and economic development portfolio holder, said feedback was still being sought on what the area should become.

“We’re meeting with Epping Town Council and we’ll have feedback from them, which will also go into the mix,” she added.

She said a design brief for the area would be completed by September at the earliest.

The council's cabinet is due to debate the survey results on July 23.

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