Fevered speculation over the name of a supermarket giant behind plans for a new store in Mirfield has exploded on social media.
Rumour and guesswork have been rife on Twitter and Facebook after it was revealed the supermarket was “one of the big four.”
Developers St James Securities told a meeting the supermarket wasn’t Tesco, which already has an Express store in the town, but wouldn’t say which chain had designs on Mirfield.
The uncertainty, however, sparked debate on social media with speculation of “Whodunnit?” proportions.
In a bid to end the doubt, Mirfield Tory councillor Martyn Bolt tweeted Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco asking them to own up.
Clr Bolt received replies from Sainsbury’s saying “not us” and Morrisons saying “we don’t think it’s us”.
Clr Bolt added: “We all know how powerful social media is and we needed to put an end to the speculation.
“I issued a tweet asking for a straight yes or no. To me it looks like Asda because they are the ones seriously not responding.
“We were told it wasn’t Tesco, and Morrisons have the former Netto store at Ravensthorpe so I can’t see it being them.
“Asda have stores at Brackenhall and Dewsbury and may think the growth in population means there are enough customers to cater for a store in between.
“All this conjecture and uncertainty doesn’t help the community.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “We aren’t looking to operate this store”.
Mirfield Town Council on Tuesday night was told of plans for a 20,000 sq ft supermarket and “unmanned” petrol station on the former Veolia Water site, across the road from the existing Lidl store.
No planning application has yet been submitted and there will be a public consultation event at Trinity Church in Huddersfield Road on June 6.
The store will have a 200-space car park with a three-hour limit and will operate a “click and collect” service.
Oliver Quarmby, managing director of St James Securities, who was at the Town Council meeting, said: “We are in advanced discussions with one of the big four supermarkets but until all the legalities have been finalised we are unfortunately not in a position to confirm who the retailer is.
“We expect to be able to confirm before a decision on the planning application is made.
“We hope as many residents as possible will attend the public exhibition on June 6 where we will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the proposal in detail.”
The Examiner asked all four supermarkets if they were behind the Mirfield plans.
Morrisons said: “It’s not us” while a Sainsbury’s spokesman confirmed: “We are not involved in this scheme.”
Interestingly, an Asda spokesman said: “We have no comment to make at this time.” Tesco did not respond.
Community leaders are concerned about the impact on town centre traffic if the new store is built.
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