IT is the supermarket saga which divided a Hampshire town.

For more than half a decade, Sainsbury’s has mooted plans to build a controversial new store in Bishop’s Waltham to no avail.

But now residents living in the historic town have united to demand answers from the retail giant once and for all about its future plans as doubts grown over the scheme.

Parish chiefs are writing to Sainsbury’s urging they reveal their plans for the long-touted Abbey Mill store.

It comes after company bosses last month announced they were scrapping 40 planned superstores as sales drop and more cash is poured into small convenience branches.

Sainsbury’s has angered residents and civic chiefs by refusing to reveal whether the project is going ahead.

Ward councillor David McLean said he is “furious” with the supermarket’s silence.

“It’s pathetic that they’re not keeping us in the loop,” he said.

“We’re in a day where people are meant to communicate with each other, and they’re not. The speculation will be rife.”

It comes more than half a decade after the plans split the traditional market town over whether a major supermarket would help or hurt business.

Anti-Sainsbury’s campaigners said a national chain would wreck the high street and independent traders, while supporters hailed the store as a victory for consumer choice and disabled shoppers who cannot travel.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We are in the process of reviewing all of our schemes.

Plans update “Once this review is complete we will be able to provide an update on our plans for Bishop’s Waltham.”

Its decision will have major implications for local healthcare, with the firm set to build a £1.6 million GPs’ surgery to replace Bishop’s Waltham’s struggling practice.

Daily Echo:

Artist's impressions of the new Sainsbury's

Senior GP Dr Simon Hunter said there was “no plan B” if the scheme collapses because health bosses cannot compete with wealthy housing developers for land.

“We don’t have a contingency plan,” he said. “We have looked for various deals at redeveloping this site or moving elsewhere but nothing else has been affordable or practical.”

Cllr Rob Humby, leader of Winchester City Council and Bishop’s Waltham’s county councillor, said a new surgery will be “first on the list” of priorities if the grocer pulls out.

He added: “We’re not too fond of what Sainsbury’s are doing.”