Major plans to build a supermarket at Worthing College have prompted months of research to fend off objectors.

Retail giant Asda is hoping its proposed £20 million redevelopment of the Bolsover Road College will be considered by borough planners after the May elections.

Asda and college researchers have published a report stating how most of the town wants the proposals to go ahead.

The redevelopment, first announced in May last year, includes a large Asda store and modern college buildings to replace the ones built in the Sixties.

Asda and Worthing College's efforts to begin construction have met stern resistance from nearby homeowners, who feel the move would increase traffic, cause noise and light pollution and lead to the closure of smaller shops in the area.

The objectors formed the Field Place Area Residents' Association (FPA) and delivered a petition, with 1,300 signatures from people opposing the redevelopment, to Worthing Borough Council.

Balancing the residents' objections, college students banded together to start a "Yes to Asda" campaign, promoting the redevelopment through a web site.

Building the supermarket would take over most of the college's playing fields and a crucial part of the plans include the provision of alternative sports facilities.

The proposals suffered delays when the council cut off talks concerning the use of council land to replace the playing fields. The council was reviewing the town's leisure facilities and would not discuss the redevelopment until the review was completed.

Despite a lengthy planning process, the retailers and the college are still determined the plans will go ahead.

Asda's report, which has been slammed by the FPA, details the results of questionnaires completed by town residents.

It said: "In just four weeks, almost 1,000 local shoppers have signed a petition supporting our proposals.

"Every time we have asked, local people said yes to a new Worthing College, yes to improved sports facilities, yes to a new Asda store and yes to more than 400 job opportunities.

"We do not make these statements without supporting evidence. The rest of this report details the main communications undertaken by Asda and Worthing College during the past few months designed to gauge the real views of Worthing's residents."

The report's results included:

Of 3,000 Worthing parents who were asked their view of the proposals, 280 supported them, 47 opposed them and 16 were undecided.

52 per cent of 500 people contacted in a telephone survey said they would be likely to use a new Asda store in Bolsover Road.

43.5 per cent of people in the telephone survey thought sports facilities in Worthing were average, 13.5 per cent thought they were poor and 5.9 per cent thought they were very poor.

76 per cent of people in the telephone survey agreed "an improved Worthing College will encourage young people to study in Worthing rather than travelling further afield".

54 per cent also agreed "a new supermarket will make shopping cheaper and easier for everyone" while 16 per cent did not give an opinion.

14,000 residents were asked whether they supported the redevelopment. A total of 490 replied, with 54 per cent saying they did, 44 per cent opposing it and two per cent undecided.