A new plan for a Tesco store at the former Bath Press site is due to be considered by councillors next week.
The supermarket giant has long been trying to establish a strong presence in the city, and this is the third application that has been submitted to regenerate the derelict building in Lower Bristol Road.
However, officers are recommending that the scheme is refused and have once again raised concerns about the impact on small businesses in nearby Moorland Road and issues surrounding traffic and road safety.
There is also the ongoing problem of the safety of the gas works, which are due to be decommissioned with funding from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.
In the past Tesco have used their willingness to pay for this work as a reason why they should have the scheme approved, but now it seems Bath and North East Somerset Council no longer needs their money.
The report, which is due to go to the development control committee next Wednesday and was written by senior planning officer Sarah James, highlighted that the situation was made more complicated by the fact Tesco had still not got written agreement from the owner of gas works site Wales and West Utilities.
It said: "Members are advised that, whilst an option has been identified by which it would be possible to overcome the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) objection through the use of appropriate conditions and a s106 agreement, this option relies upon the involvement of a third party. The current position is that the third party has not committed to the signing of a legal agreement in connection with the application; so the HSE objection still stands.
"Furthermore, on the basis of the current information, the resultant decommissioning of the gas holder station (if it were to be secured) cannot be given significant weight in balancing the planning merits of the current proposals because the gas holders are likely to be decommissioned in any event as part of the BWR project.
"It is therefore considered that the potential for the decommissioning of the gas holder site through funding provided by the applicant is not a consideration that can appropriately be used as an argument to overcome or outweigh the serious retail and highway objections to the development that are set out in this report."
The proposed development would include a single storey supermarket with a 395-space car park below it, creative work space, offices, a two-storey community hall, a museum and ten new houses.
Two very similar schemes involving Tesco have previously been submitted but were withdrawn before the council made a decision on whether they would be approved.
This latest application comes just weeks before Sainsbury's is due to apply for planning permission for a £160 million regeneration of its Green Park site.
The supermarket giant has long been trying to establish a strong presence in the city, and this is the third application that has been submitted to regenerate the derelict building in Lower Bristol Road.
However, officers are recommending that the scheme is refused and have once again raised concerns about the impact on small businesses in nearby Moorland Road and issues surrounding traffic and road safety.
There is also the ongoing problem of the safety of the gas works, which are due to be decommissioned with funding from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.
In the past Tesco have used their willingness to pay for this work as a reason why they should have the scheme approved, but now it seems Bath and North East Somerset Council no longer needs their money.
The report, which is due to go to the development control committee next Wednesday and was written by senior planning officer Sarah James, highlighted that the situation was made more complicated by the fact Tesco had still not got written agreement from the owner of gas works site Wales and West Utilities.
It said: "Members are advised that, whilst an option has been identified by which it would be possible to overcome the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) objection through the use of appropriate conditions and a s106 agreement, this option relies upon the involvement of a third party. The current position is that the third party has not committed to the signing of a legal agreement in connection with the application; so the HSE objection still stands.
"Furthermore, on the basis of the current information, the resultant decommissioning of the gas holder station (if it were to be secured) cannot be given significant weight in balancing the planning merits of the current proposals because the gas holders are likely to be decommissioned in any event as part of the BWR project.
"It is therefore considered that the potential for the decommissioning of the gas holder site through funding provided by the applicant is not a consideration that can appropriately be used as an argument to overcome or outweigh the serious retail and highway objections to the development that are set out in this report."
The proposed development would include a single storey supermarket with a 395-space car park below it, creative work space, offices, a two-storey community hall, a museum and ten new houses.
Two very similar schemes involving Tesco have previously been submitted but were withdrawn before the council made a decision on whether they would be approved.
This latest application comes just weeks before Sainsbury's is due to apply for planning permission for a £160 million regeneration of its Green Park site.
