A new Tesco branch may be opening in Brentwood high street.

The supermarket chain wants to open its fourth Brentwood store in the former Dorothy Perkins shop opposite the Bay Tree Centre.

While a new planning application is not necessarily required, the retailer has applied to Brentwood Borough Council for a new premises licence, which would give it the right to sell alcohol Monday to Sunday between 6am and 12 midnight.

Dorothy Perkins permanently shut its doors after all the other Arcadia brands - including Wallis, Burton and Topshop - became an online-only brand.

Brentwood already has Tesco stores operating in Warley, Hutton and London Road and the high street already has a nearby Iceland and Marks and Spencer, as well as a large Sainsbury’s just yards away to the rear in William Hunter Way.

The announcement comes amid heightened awareness that high streets need more support.

In October, more than 240 businesses, speakers and partners attended Essex County Council’s first ever High Street Business Summit, to discuss the future-proofing of high streets and town centres.