The dispute over the extension of an out-of-town scheme in Northern Ireland due to be anchored by John Lewis is to be settled by a public inquiry.

A row has raged over plans by Westfield to extend the Sprucefield scheme outside Lisburn since 2004.

Since then various local parties have launched legal actions to block the Australian developer on the grounds that the scheme will have a detrimental effect on the centres of Lisburn and Belfast.

The case is now due to appear before an inquiry of the Planning Appeals Commission, a body of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

John Lewis, which has signed to anchor the scheme with a 220,000 sq ft (20,440 sq m) store, welcomed the decision.

The retailer’s head of development Jeremy Collins said: “We welcome the decision to send this to a public inquiry. We believe it’s the best way to deal with it given the amount of attention it’s received.

“It’s a long process but we’re taking the long-term view.”

The plans have met with considerable resistance from local businesses from across the region, including other developers in Lisburn and Belfast.

Westfield was first granted outline consent to build the scheme in June 2005, but was knocked back the following year when the decision was overturned in Belfast’s High Court.

The developer resubmitted its application last year with a scaled-down version of the original plans.

In the revised plans, the number of smaller units to be created was reduced from 29 to 19.

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