An “austere” and “uncompromising” town centre supermarket looks set to be redeveloped and broken up into different retail units in a bid to create a “more desirable” shopping area.

The Tesco store on Denmark Street – part of the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe – could be subdivided to make way for three more shops on the ground floor level.  

The plans, put together by architects on behalf of Tesco, highlight a need to revamp the “austere brick-clad” façade of the building, adding that the building has a “weighty and introverted public face”.

To make the building look more attractive, the brick will be replaced with glazed windows and a new more “centralised” access to Tesco will be created if the plans are given the go-ahead.

Car parking on the third floor will also be reconfigured and parking on the second floor will be expanded by 76 spaces by getting rid of Tesco’s “back-of-house” space.

It has not been confirmed what the other shops could become, but planners say they want to attract a “wide range of tenants”.

Wycombe District Council’s environmental services say they will object to the plans unless electric vehicle charging points are added to the revamped car park plans.

It comes after the council introduced a new Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in response to concerns about “toxic” levels of pollution.

It is estimated that 144 excess deaths each year in the Wycombe district are caused by poor air quality – with the majority of those deaths expected to have been caused along the main arterial roads into High Wycombe and Marlow town centres.

Commenting on the plans, officers said: “It has been identified that the proposed development intends to introduce an additional 41 parking spaces. As such the potential introduction of additional vehicles into the AQMA will negatively impact local air quality and its harmful health impacts upon local residents.

“Wycombe District Council has a duty to ensure that nitrogen dioxide levels from road traffic within the AQMA are reduced to safer levels.”

These proposals come against a backdrop of redevelopment in the town centre area.

The nearby Curve building, which housed the former Pure nightclub, will be given a revamp by developers who want to turn it into offices and shops.

Meanwhile, new apartments are being built at the gasworks site on the other side of the shopping centre.

The area could be given an even bigger facelift if ambitious plans to reopen the River Wye through the town centre are given the green light.

The Tesco plans could be decided by Wycombe District Council by February 11.

The documents can be viewed online at publicaccess.wycombe.gov.uk/idoxpa-web/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=PIMVGISCIGN00.