Once Tesco had announced that it was abandoning 49 of its development projects, the decision to sell some of the sites for residential development was almost inevitable.
The mothballed projects included several sites in London and the south east of England, where housing demand is high. In addition, the have good transport links and connections to town centres, that retail sites need if they are to have a realistic chance of obtaining planning permission, also make the sites attractive for house builders.
The move is likely to be welcomed by local councils and central government, who could benefit from an unexpected windfall when it comes to housing numbers. After all, when it comes to establishing a five year housing land supply, Every Little Helps.
For communities who had hoped for the regeneration and revitalisation of an area that often follows in the footsteps of a new food store, today's announcement may be more bittersweet.
as many as 10,000 homes could be built on the sites Tesco has just sold, from Bath to London and the south-east of England. .... The 14 sites sold are just a small part of the 49 projects Tesco announced earlier in the year it was abandoning.The others remain largely unsold and derelict, leading to criticisms from local MPs such as Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, who said the local community felt let down.