THE Co-op has launched the latest volley in Settle's store wars by announcing its plans to open a free short stay car park in the town centre and spend £500,000 on a major refurbishment of its own supermarket.

The offer, however, will depend on the fate of the rival application for Booth's supermarket, which is likely to come up before Craven District Council's planning committee on Monday March 23.

Tony Henry, chief executive of Yorkshire Co-operatives, said that if Booth's won their fight to build a supermarket in Bond Lane, then the Settle Co-op faced "slow run down and closure" with the loss of 40 jobs.

The Co-op is objecting to the Booth's plan on the grounds that it will destroy the centre of Settle.

Instead it is offering to buy land it has identified in the centre of the town and provide 40 car parking spaces free for short stay use. Mr Henry confirmed that the spaces would not be restricted to customers using the Co-op store.

He declined to name the site but said that he would be able to reveal more next week.

"We have been in Settle for 130 years and we are not giving up without a fight," said Mr Henry.

The Co-op insists that the centre of Settle would suffer if Booth's is given the go ahead, with trade diverted away from the existing smaller shops to the Bond Lane site.

Mr Henry drew parallels with his firm's experience in Shipley, where, he said, Asda had opened a large supermarket and the Co-op's own store had become a bowling alley as Shipley town centre degenerated.

"Of course we are doing it for business reasons but we also believe that Settle will suffer, not least because 40 jobs will go," said Mr Henry.

If Booth's is thwarted, then the Co-op will increase the size of its store and upgrade its facilities at a cost of £500,000.

Donald Clark, agent for Booth's, said: "We would welcome competition from an improved Co-op."

This is the second time the Co-op has pledged to spend large sums of money in order to spike the Booth's plan.

Last year it offered to build a school on the Bond Lane site but its tender for the land was beaten by Booth's, who are believed to have offered at least £1 million for the site.

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