The possibility of a new superstore in a rundown shopping area has not been ruled out.

Brighton and Hove City Council announced yesterday that no new supermarket would be included in its forthcoming masterplan for London Road, Brighton, and it wanted to encourage small and independent businesses.

But the authority refused to completely rule out the possibility of a store being added at a later date.

In a statement a spokesman said: "Any potential planning application for a superstore in London Road would need to be considered on its merits and assessed against local and national retail policies."

He added that the council would assess the effect of any development on existing shops.

The statement comes just months after campaigners celebrated a victory for people power after Tesco dropped plans for a superstore in the London Road area.

The supermarket giant's partners St James Developments had bought up large amounts of property in the neighbourhood and drawn up regeneration proposals with Tesco central to them.

The council made the announcement yesterday as it revealed work on its own London Road regeneration masterplan was nearly complete.

Councillor Keith Taylor, who represents the area, said people would be disappointed if a supermarket was allowed, as it had been in the regeneration of the nearby New England Quarter.

Coun Taylor said: "We have an opportunity to rule out a Tesco or another large supermarket and that is precisely what the community wants. If the masterplan fails to do anything other that that it will be failing the people."