A “CLASS war” has broken out over plans by rival supermarkets to open new stores in a town.

Both Tesco and Waitrose want to open in Faringdon, with the major chains putting forward plans for what would be the town’s first large supermarket.

Vale of White Horse District Council has indicated it wants one superstore in the town, and in October turned down an application for an out-of-town Tesco in Park Road close to the A420.

The council threw out the application because it would have had an adverse impact on the economic vitality of the town centre, Tesco had failed to consider sites closer to the town centre and because the site of the proposed store was set aside for industrial use.

The same committee of councillors will now decide whether to allow Waitrose to convert a disused town-centre site next to Gloucester Street car park into a store.

Mother-of-three Leanne Hutt, 27, who has launched an anti-Waitrose petition, said: “To be completely honest, it is the snobs that want Waitrose and people that cannot afford to carry on driving out of town or live on benefits that want Tesco. It is class war, very much so.”

The rival chains’ planning applications have led to a stream of letters to the district council planning office.

Carolyn Williams, of Southampton Street, told planning officers in one letter: “Faringdon is very mixed, with a large amount of social housing and people on low incomes who are not confident enough to write to you in defence of Tesco as opposed to Waitrose, and a probably similar number of private homes with more literate and vociferous people who are able and happy to write to you with the opposite view.

“The former need to shop in Faringdon, the latter tend to go out of town or shop on the Internet.”

Andrea Messenger, of Town End Road, said: “The decision-makers here need to consider the number of shoppers forced to leave a dead and expensive town for their weekly shop.

“It’s all very idealist to create a Cotswold ‘posh’ image for Faringdon, but Faringdon’s poor cannot be overlooked yet again.”

But Philip St George-Yorke, of Berners Way, said: “The quality of produce and type of shoppers that use Waitrose will help revitalise the whole town centre. Waitrose caters now for a full range of shoppers with many of their basic products matching other national supermarkets on both the price and quality.”

The council’s economic development officers have backed the Waitrose plans, saying they represented a “much needed improvement”.

Tesco has appealed against the decision to reject its application and has told the Vale council it could take legal action if it approves Waitrose’s plan.

The Vale’s planning officers have yet to recommend whether to approve or throw out the Waitrose plan.

The councillors will vote on the Waitrose application on May 24.