Tesco has been slammed by the leader of Dartford council after it announced plans to abandon 100 supermarket building projects.

Cllr Jeremy Kite blasted the behaviour of Tesco management as it attempted to bring a halt to profit slides of 60%.

Proposals for a new branch in Lowfield Street, near the town centre, escaped the firing line. However, uncertainties remain over the long-awaited development.

Demolition has now begun to clear the site but this week the firm would reveal little more about what will happen next.

A spokesman from Tesco said: “We are currently reviewing our whole business.

“We know that many people in the local community are keen to see the new store open and we’re very grateful for the support we’ve received for our plans.

“We’ll provide an update to the local community as soon as we can and in the meantime have made good progress with demolition works on site.”

Cllr Kite said he knew people were concerned about Lowfield Street.

He said: “We had a very fractious meeting with them [Tesco] in October.

“When you look at retailers like John Lewis, they tend to look at one area and they make it happen.

“What Tesco seems to have done is buy land up and down the country in case they want to build something in the future. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Tesco paid a high price for many such plots of land, and may have to sell then at a loss.

The company has proposed to seek planning permission to turn some of the sites into housing estates as a less financially risky solution.

Cllr Kite said if this was the road Tesco wanted to go down, he would be open to discussion.

He said: “Any housing plan would have to be what Dartford wants.

“We have to take a long-term view on it and consider things like how this would look and how it would contribute to the town. Dartford isn’t part of the ‘Rescue Tesco Brigade’.”

Cllr Kite also expressed his frustration about a lack of control over how valuable pieces of land were treated by developers.

He said the council should be able to set deadlines on projects, but legislation prevented this.

He said: “I do think the law needs changing. It’s frustrating to me.

“People blame the council and I understand that. But this has much more to do with Tesco than Dartford.”

Labour shadow leader Cllr Geoffrey Prout said a plan was needed in case the firm did pull out.

He said: “I am extremely sceptical that they will come to Dartford.

“They have shown no great sense of urgency about doing anything with the site.

“What Dartford needs is a plan B and to take it off Tesco’s hands and turn it into something else.

“The people of Dartford are absolutely ashamed of the place.

“I have asked Jeremy Kite what he plans to do if they pull out and I’ve heard nothing.

“Jeremy Kite should be pushing the government to change the law to give councils more power over issues like this.”