ONE of Bexley's largest supermarkets is to increase its sales floor by nearly a third, by adding a mezzanine floor.

With Tesco planning to move into Bexleyheath by building a megastore on the former Woolwich site, Asda, in Bexleyheath Broadway, has successfully applied for planning permission to increase its sales area without adding to the footprint of its building.

The company says it needs the extra sales space to extend the range of goods its sells, including clothing, electrical goods and kitchenware.

The new floor, which will add 18,500sq ft of retail floorspace to the existing 47,300sq ft, will be accessed from the upper level of the existing car park.

It will mean changes to the road layout around the car park, including the removal of the existing road hump in Graham Road and three new flat-top humps in Graham Road and Sherbrooke Close.

Meanwhile Tesco, which with St James's Investments plans to redevelop the Woolwich site at the end of the Broadway on the junction with Erith Road, says more than 550 people visited the exhibition of its plans for the site.

James Wiggam, corporate affairs manager for Tesco, said: "We were pleased so many people were able to come to the exhibition to view our plans.

"It was great to hear the many positive comments during the exhibition."

Tesco hopes to put in an outline planning application to Bexley Council in the next couple of weeks.

It plans to demolish the landmark "pagoda-style" Woolwich building but has yet to decide the design of its new building which could be up to eight storeys high.

It will include two storeys of underground car parking, a store with a mezzanine floor and up to four storeys of housing on top.

In addition, there will be other housing around the site, adding up to more than 400 new homes.

Its store will also sell the full range of clothing, electrical goods, homeware and IT items.

There are also plans to take a slice of the existing site to widen Erith Road at the Watling Street end.

This would provide a new Erith-bound lane for shoppers to turn right into the supermarket and an extra turn left filter lane at the Watling Street junction.

Bexley Council has refused to be drawn on comments by Tesco and St James's Investments they are still pursuing the option of building the new store on the civic offices site in the Broadway.