A NEW Morrisons superstore in Ilkeston has been given the go-ahead.
The decision was made at an Erewash Borough Council meeting at Long Eaton Town Hall.
It had been recommended for refusal by council officials, on the grounds that the development in Field Road would take away trade from the town centre .
However, councillors voted in favour of it.
The planning application also includes 39 new homes and a petrol station on the site of what is now Derby College.
Several members of the public spoke out against the application, citing concerns about pollution, increased traffic and worries about people deserting shops in the town centre.
James Smith, Morrisons development executive, said a great deal of hard work and investment had gone into the project. He said: "I am very pleased we have been given the go-ahead."
The sale of the Derby College site to Morrisons means that a new £10 million campus for the college – on the site of the former magistrates' court in Pimlico, Ilkeston – can go ahead.