A developer has refused to confirm whether an application to remove highways rights on a small strip of land at a site earmarked for a supermarket means plans are finally progressing.

Proposals for a 23,000sq ft new store on the former EMD site in Kings Road, Halstead, were approved by Braintree District Council over a year ago.

At the time, bosses at Scott Properties, the company which is developing the site, said they hoped to have a deal struck with a major supermarket chain by the end of 2012, with work expected to start at the beginning of this year.

But that has not happened.

The company has now submitted a planning application requesting that existing highways rights on a grass verge along one side of the site are removed.

It refused to comment on whether the application was an indicator that negotiations were progressing.