A CONTROVERSIAL Tesco - which residents believe council planning bosses were “tricked” into allowing to go ahead - plans to open from 6am until 11pm.

At the moment, the Express store, in Cotman Road, in Prettygate, only has permission to open between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday and between 10am and 4pm on Sundays.

But under new plans, Tesco bosses want to open the store between 6am and 11pm, in line with many of its other smaller shops in the town.

Residents have already cried foul because neither they nor councillors were consulted on plans to open the store because the changes to planning permission were “non-material”, or not important enough.

Permission was initially given to turn three shops into four, before officers decided in private it would be okay to knock the four shops into one and open a Tesco Express.

John Clifton, a spokesman for the Prettygate Community Group - which has opposed the Tesco - said: “We knew this would be coming.

“They are not going to open a shop and be content with 8am until 6pm - they will always want more than that."