Interest in a proposed new supermarket in Halstead appears to be waning.

Proposals for a 23,000 sq ft store on the former EMD factory site, in Kings Road, were approved by Braintree Council in October 2012.

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 last year.

But that never materialised and the firm later vowed to be in a position to make an announcement as soon as the deadline for any judicial review or appeal against the planners’ decision elapsed at the end of March 2013, but again no deal was reached.

Scott Properties continued to insist negotiations with two major supermarket chains were ongoing, but this week refused to comment on whether those dicussions had since collapsed.

The firm would only confirm the site is still up for sale.

Under the conditions of the planning permission granted by Braintree Council, work on the supermarket must begin within three years.