Sedgemoor District Council has dismissed claims one of Bridgwater's largest public parks could be built on.

Opposition Labour councillors last week accused the authority of considering selling off the whole of Brewery Field in Northgate to Tesco without any legal protection to preserve it for future generations.

Tesco wants to landscape around a quarter of Brewery Field but a council spokeswoman confirmed a covenant has been included in the £11million deal ensuring the rest of the land is maintained as public open space.

The council also said the lost open space would be offset by turning the current car park area back into a green field.

The row was sparked following a public notice in last week's Mercury advertising Sedgemoor District Council's proposals to sell Brewery Field as part of Tesco's plans for a new 'Extra' store on the site.

Labour councillor Brian Smedley claimed most people thought only a third of the park would be sold off rather than all of it.

But the council spokeswoman said it had always been the intention to sell the whole Northgate site, including Brewery Field.

Cllr Kathy Pearce, leader of the Labour group on Sedgemoor District Council, said: "The Brewery Field is one of Sedgemoor's greatest assets which is a valued green space in the heart of the town.

“To 'dispose' of it with the rest of Northgate without any legal protection to preserve the field for future generations is outrageous.”

People wishing to comment on the sale of the land should e-mail tim.mander@sedgemoor.gov.uk by March 22.