Insider Media Limited

Birmingham City Council will decide today whether planning permission for a controversial Morrisons supermarket will be approved for the former Edgbaston Shopping Centre site. The council has received 26 objections to the store with West Midlands Police also expressing concern.

In the planning report, planning officers are urging councillors to approve the supermarket giant’s bid for a 50,870 sq ft store, providing Morrisons agrees to section 106 terms within three months. This includes contributing a financial sum “towards environmental/public realm improvements in the vicinity of the site”.

If planning permission is approved, the supermarket will be created over two levels and feature a café on the first floor. The development is estimated to create more than 300 jobs – 114 full-time and 189 part-time positions.

Morrisons received 26 objections to the planning application including opposition to the design and layout of the proposed building. A lack of “detail, quality and ambition” is cited in the report.

West Midlands Police expressed its concern regarding the lighting and visibility in the car park and smaller units of the development, as well as the positioning of some of the proposed parking spaces.

A spokesman for Morrisons said it was "too early" to comment before today's meeting though the company is "keen for Edgbaston shoppers to experience Morrisons range of fresh food, excellent service and great value".

In its recent annual statement, Morrisons posted record pre-tax profits of £858m for the year to 31 January 2010.

The supermarket chain is the UK’s fourth largest food retailer with 403 stores. It mainly sells food and grocery items, claiming on its website to "uniquely source and process most of the fresh food that we sell though our own manufacturing facilities".

It also claims to have more staff employees preparing food in store than any other retailer.

Nine million customers use Morrisons each week, according to its figures, and it employs 124,000 members of staff.