Waitrose executives will submit a controversial planning application to build a new supermarket in Wimbledon in as little as two weeks.

The Wimbledon Guardian has learned the supermarket giant is intent on pressing ahead with development of a new store in Alexandra Road despite appeals from Merton council and the Wimbledon business community to look elsewhere.

But people living in this area are very keen to finally get a Waitrose on their doorstep, with 98 per cent of those to take part in a Wimbledon Guardian poll last month voting in favour of allowing it onto the Alexandra Road site.

Fears that trade and footfall would be sucked away from the town centre led Waitrose to consider the feasibility of other sites including the former Woolworths in the Broadway and the Hartfield Road car park.

But according to sources at the supermarket chain none of these alternatives are financially viable, even though the results of the feasibility study are yet to be released.

Chief Executive of Merton Chamber of Commerce, Diana Sterck, said: “Waitrose appears to have researched all the sites quite comprehensively. It’s a difficult one, but the council now has to make sure it looks closely at the impact of this on Wimbledon’s town centre.

“We’ll have to wait and see, but the council must protect the area’s existing businesses.”

Merton council’s leader has warned that a supermarket and 100-space car park in Alexandra Road - 400 yards from the town centre - would suck the life out of the town centre.

Traders in nearby Leopold Road also fear for their survival if a supermarket is built nearby, while some residents have expressed concerns over increased traffic in Alexandra Road.

Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond will meet with senior Waitrose officials next week and has vowed to express residents concerns.

He said: “I’ll be looking for Waitrose to come up with ideas that will help the town centre continue as a thriving place. But obviously a number of residents would also be delighted to see a quality retailer like Waitrose come to the area.”