BOSSES of Homebase told a public inquiry that Clitheroe would miss out on £18m of spending if plans for a store were not approved.

But Ribble Valley Borough Council told the hearing - set up to investigate whether the local authority was right to turn down plans for the DIY store - that a Homebase would hit smaller, local retailers.

The three-day public inquiry opened yesterday after an appeal was lodged by Citypark Projects Ltd over the council's refusal to give permission for a store on the junction with Wilkin Bridge and Highfield Road, Clitheroe.

The proposed location is a former site of the Rectella factory.

In his opening statement Richard Sagar, representing Citypark Projects, said the DIY store would bring in an influx of consumer spending into the town.

He said the site would bring in £25m of expenditure DIY goods into Clitheroe compared to the £7m currently being spent.

Mr Sagar said: "Without the site £18m of expenditure leaks out from the town.

"People are going to stores similar to that in the proposal which are based in Blackburn and Accrington which are of considerable distance away. People are going away from Clitheroe to find this sort of offer."

In response, Jonathan Easton representing the council, said they believed the Homebase store did not fit the role of a DIY store because it sold household goods alongside DIY products.

He argued that the site would hit local retailers by up to 10 per cent in sales and this would be a significant impact on the viability and vitality of traders in the town.

Mr Easton then cross examined Alison Rowland, a town planning consultant, who argued that the proposed design of the DIY store would be to the detriment of Clitheroe, saying: "It would undermine the attractiveness of Clitheroe as a place to work and live.

"There is little to suggest that the design has evolved since the original planning stage. The design is a building set in a sea of car parking which, in my opinion, is completely inappropriate."

Mr Sagar said there had been a history of industry and large buildings on the site, and Miss Rowland agreed.

Andrew Piatt, representing Dawson's Hardware which has traded in King Street, Clitheroe for more than 30 years, said his client saw the proposed store as the end of their business.

He said: "The town centre would be affected because of the location of the Homebase.

"Linked trips into the town centre would be lost."