A POYNTON campaign group battling against plans for a Tesco in the village say 3,000 people have signed a petition calling for the supermarket giant to stay away.

Poynton Against Tesco (PAT), a union of residents and local businesses, are fighting to quash the multinational’s proposals to build at the Texaco garage site on London Road South.

Tesco have stated they will address all local concerns when the planning application is submitted, but hundreds of residents gathered outside the civic hall earlier this month opposing the store.

They held banners with phrases such as “Tesco Chain Store Massacre”, “TesGo” and “Tesco Threat to Local Trade”.

Since then, 3,238 names have been inked on forms placed in local shops, and at manned petition points on Queensway and Park Lane.

A website has also been launched by PAT this week to support their campaign, www.poyntonagainsttesco.co.uk

Last week, MP for Macclesfield, Sir Nicholas Winterton, threw his weight behind the fight against the Tesco store, expressing his concerns for parking and the loss of trade for small retailers in the village.

Stephen Marsden, a spokesman for PAT, said: “While some residents see a new Tesco as good for the partly disused site, perhaps keeping more people shopping entirely within the village, many more fear a broad combination of negative factors.

“These factors include more traffic congestion, environmental impact, loss of Poynton’s one surviving petrol station, and loss of earnings or potential closure of the village’s small businesses.

“Like Sir Nicholas, Poynton Against Tesco is urging residents to write to the planning officer at Macclesfield as soon as the application is received in order to register their views – by far the most important way to register local feeling about the application.”

Tesco said if given the green light, the Poynton food-only store would employ 150 people from the local area, and create parking for 110 cars.