Round-the-clock shopping has come to Chelmsford after a U-turn by councillors.

They have given the go-ahead to the Princes Road Tesco superstore to trade 24-hours a day, six days a week.

The decision allows 24-hour opening except for Sundays until the end of July. It was warmly welcomed by Tesco, which maintains that it will benefit the community as well as creating 40 new jobs.

Store manager Tony Bradley said: "We will continue to work very hard to be good neighbours."

Last month, members of Chelmsford Borough Council's development control sub-committee went against their officers' advice and turned down Tesco's application for a one-year trial period. On Monday, the matter was reconsidered in the light of further submissions by Tesco.

Councillor Freda Mountain said: "I am disappointed, but it will now be possible to fully monitor the situation and collate evidence of the level of noise and nuisance."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.