LESS than two months before the new Tesco store is due to open in Callington, town councillors say they furious that Cornwall Council has made no attempt to discuss vital highways improvements that were a condition of the planning permission.

When the Tesco development was approved last year, the company agreed a £145,000 contribution to improve accessibility between the new store in Tavistock Road and the town centre, pedestrianisation of the town and the one-way system.

The contribution was part of a Section 106 legal agreement between the planning authority and the supermarket company. The scheme was intended to make it easier for people to come into the town centre to use the town shops and it included putting in between 20 and 30 on-street parking spaces.

As yet the town council has not seen any plans or had any discussions with highways officers — despite the store being just weeks away from completion.

Town councillor Jeremy Gist this week said highways had time to put time and effort into traffic schemes which were not needed, like traffic islands in Launceston Road, but not something which was vital to the economic well being of the town.

'It is abysmal,' he said. 'We were told that with the planning application for Tesco there would be an opportunity to make something positive out of it and encourage people into the town.

'Cornwall Council has still not had a meeting with us, never mind put a plan together. This large supermarket is going to have a head start over the town centre.'

Mr Gist said a simple one way system, on-street car parking, a small pedestrianised area and a pedestrian crossing at the traffic lights, all of which had been on the council's wish-list for some years, formed the improvement scheme.

He said: 'It will be months before we have anything in place because it has to be discussed, consulted on, then designed and looked at again. All the time the cost is going up. I am disgusted that nothing has happened.'

Town and Cornwall councillor Andrew Long said it was 'very frustrating' but he was pushing very hard to get things moving and was due to meet with highways officer Oliver Jones.

'My aim will be to organise a project meeting between the highways department and the town council to get timescales into place to put this dream into a reality,' he said.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: 'We can confirm that Section 106 money has been received from Tesco and the Cornwall council highways department is currently speaking with Callington town council regarding the highway engineering works associated with this development.'

A Tesco spokesperson said the company had paid £145,000 to Cornwall council towards pedestrian, highways and town centre improvements in Callington and understood that the local community would benefit from these improvements in time for when the Tesco store opened this summer.