A formal application has not yet been submitted but it is understood the firm are targeting the eyesore former Kwik Save store at the junction of Main Street and Jennison Street.

The building and land has become a target for vandalism and anti-social behaviour since Kwik Save shut two years ago.

There is a possibility the plan could also include land on the opposite side of Jennison Street that once housed the New Crown Sharpe motor dealership. This has been derelict for more than five years.

Residents have generally welcomed the idea of a supermarket to improve an area that has become a blight on the town centre.

They are also happy that the scheme would potentially create hundreds of jobs.

But others believe there is no need for another Tesco because there are already giant stores at Hucknall, off Station Road, and Top Valley, off Hucknall Road.

There is also a Morrisons superstore only yards away on the Springfield Retail Park off Hucknall Lane.

Tesco have written to Nottingham City Council to ask if they need to carry out an environmental impact assessment when applying for planning permission.

The application is expected to be submitted next month with plans for car parking and landscaping.

A Tesco spokesman told the Dispatch they undertaking consultation as to the best way forward and to see whether there would be a market for a store. He declined to outline how big the shop would be.

The spokesman added: "When we are ready to go forward, we will contact the Dispatch."

Previously there were suggestions that Asda owned the New Crown site and had attempted to buy nearby houses and the Three Crowns pub on Main Street with a view to opening a store themselves. This has never materialised.