CAMPAIGNERS in Faringdon say “class war” has broken out over which supermarket giant should set up shop in the town.

Both Tesco and Waitrose want to open branches, with the chains putting forward rival sites to open the town’s first large supermarket.

Vale of White Horse District Council has indictated it wants one superstore in the town, and in October turned down a Tesco plan for a 2,140 sq m out-of-town store in Park Road, close to the A420.

The same committee will now decide whether to allow Waitrose to convert a disused town centre site next to Gloucester Street car park into a 2,042 sq m store.

Mum-of-three Leanne Hutt, 27, who has got 150 names on a pro-Tesco petition, said: “To be completely honest, it is the snobs that want Waitrose and people that cannot afford to carry on driving out of town or live on benefits that want Tesco.”

She added: “It is class war, very much so.”

Currently, the town’s main food shop is Budgens, which opposes both developments and which Mrs Hutt said was already too expensive for many Faringdon residents.

The rival chain’s bids have sparked a flood of letters to the district council planning office.

Carolyn Williams, of Southampton Street, told planners: “Faringdon is very mixed, with a large amount of social housing and people on low incomes who are not confident enough to write to you in defence of Tesco as opposed to Waitrose, and a probably similar number of private homes with more literate and vociferous people who are able and happy to write to you with the opposite view.

“The former need to shop in Faringdon, the latter tend to go out of town or shop on the Internet”.”

Andrea Messenger, of Town End Road, said: “It’s all very idealist to create Cotswold ‘posh’ image for Faringdon, but Faringdon’s poor cannot be overlooked.”

But Philip St George-Yorke, of Berners Way, said: “The quality of produce and type of shoppers that use Waitrose will help revitalise the whole town centre.

“Waitrose caters now for a full range of shoppers with many of their basic products matching other national supermarkets on both the price and quality.”

The council’s own economic development team backed Waitrose, saying it represented a “much needed improvement” but this might see Budgens close.

An annual survey by The Grocer magazine last year said Waitrose cost an average £466.61 more in bills over a year compared to Tesco.

Tesco is already appealing over last year’s refusal decision and says it will take legal action if Waitrose gets the go-ahead when councillors vote on May 24.