German supermarket giant Aldi is to appeal against a decision by Oxford city councillors to refuse planning permission for a new store off Botley Road.

The cut-price supermarket chain applied for permission to build the 1,731sq m store between Toys R Us and Wickes earlier this year.

It would include 48 car parking spaces and 10 cycle spaces on the retail park.

The council received 10 letters of objection and last month, councillors on the central, south and west area committee agreed to refuse the new supermarket planning permission.

This was despite the recommendation of planning officers that the store, which would employ 14 staff, should be given the go-ahead.

On Thursday, Aldi bosses announced that it was resubmitting its application and would appeal against the decision.

Aldi spokesman Lisa Morgan said: "The grounds for refusal were not borne out by the planning officers' recommendations, who did not consider the proposals would result in any detrimental impact on the local environment or highways."

Susanna Pressel, Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney, said councillors rejected the supermarket application on traffic grounds.

She added: "Botley Road is already extremely congested due to a large number of retail stores, and there are always a large number of vehicle movements associated with any supermarket."

Not everyone in the area is against the Aldi supermarket.

Mohammed Fazal, 60, of Botley Road, said: "Traffic on Botley Road has always been busy, so I don't think Aldi will make too much difference and there are plenty of parking spaces on the retail park."

Evelyn Wilks, who has lived in Botley Road for 40 years, added: "There is planning permission for something there, and we don't need any more electrical or furniture stores, so why not a supermarket?"

Commercial lawyer Paul Maclennan, 26, who has lived in Botley Road for the past two years, said: "I have used Aldi stores in other parts of the country and the quality of the goods is fine, even though they just stock their own brands."

q=candrew.ffrench@nqo.com "The new store would enable Aldi to offer local shoppers the full range of its award-winning food and wines, as well as its ever-changing range of weekly special buys including fashions, electricals and homeware goods.

"This proposal is the same as the proposal previously recommended for approval by local planning officers but refused by councillors at the meeting on May 18.

"Following the refusal, Aldi has resubmitted this application and is currently appealing the decision of Oxford City Council."

"We were very unconvinced that the arrival of Aldi on Botley Road would not lead to a significant increase in traffic."

Before the area committee last month, councillors were hoping to complete an agreement with the developers so they contribute £10,000 towards the West Oxford cycle path.

Rival German supermarket chain Lidl opened a new store in March in Watlington Road, Cowley. Earlier this month, work started on a new £50,000 pedestrian crossing in Blackbird Leys to help shoppers reach the store. The scheme was paid for by Lidl.