This is the £40 million Tesco store.

The Lewes branch of Tesco is trading at a staggering 34%, or £10 million, above the supermarket giant’s average store.

This is according to a high street rival, whose application for a site next door to Tesco will be heard at a meeting tonight.

Budget supermarket chain Aldi claims the figure, based on surveys of shoppers, shows there is room for another store in Lewes.

The district council believes the figures, based on trade from 2007, are an exaggeration but its own estimate, based on trading figures, still show the Lewes Tesco takes in £2 million, or 7% more than the company average – meaning it makes around £32 million a year.

Councillor Anne De Vecchi, leader of Lewes District Council, said there are concerns for the impact of supermarket giants on the town’s independent traders.

Both Aldi and Tesco declined to comment when contacted by The Argus.

For full report see today's Argus.