A 200-year-old oak tree will be chopped down after supermarket giant Tesco was given the green light to expand its Causeway store. And last Thursday's controversial decision by East Hampshire district councillors means that The Petersfield School will house a new £1m sports facility, including an all-weather pitch and changing rooms. While school representatives registered a polite round of applause following the decision, a chorus of "vandals" emanated from the public gallery at Penns Place. Feelings have run high for months over the scheme, which has seen Tesco and TPS join forces, with opponents voicing their distaste of felling a tree said to have been rooted "since the Battle of Waterloo", as well as the noise associated with sports pitches, the effect on local businesses, and an increase of traffic into the town. But supporters of Cranford Road-based TPS cited the current facilities at the school as being "woeful, soggy, muddy and outdated" in comparison with other schools in the region, and East Hampshire district councillors were faced with a balancing act. District councillors heard that TPS and the community will benefit from facilities, which will include a floodlit all-weather sports pitch, four multi-use courts, three artificial cricket wickets, and associated changing rooms. Tesco will see its current store expanded from 3,380 square metres to 5,765 square metres, an extension of its car park to 374 spaces, and get a loading area for delivery vans for its Internet shopping service. To reflect the public divide, EHDC received 119 letters of rejection and a petition with 199 signatures against the proposal, alongside 112 letters of support. Planning officer Julia Mansi, however, left members in little doubt as to which way they should vote, remarking: "I recommend that permission be granted, because we as officers feel the benefits outweigh the minor negative points." Opponent Richard Purchase labelled the decision as "probably the most important" they would face, adding: "please do not be the committee that could conduct an act of vandalism in removing that tree". Local man George Watkinson, who also represented Petersfield Town Council, described proposals as "an eyesore" before citing the danger of balls "flying over the fence onto the main road". TPS headteacher Nigel Poole remarked: "This joint application is good for the school, the town and East Hampshire." "This proposal will allow TPS to radically improve its sports facilities. The installation costs of £1m will be funded by the sale of land to Tesco, and Petersfield gets a desperately-needed pitch at no cost to the taxpayer," he said. Bob Ayer – one of four Petersfield councillors unable to vote on proposals due to personal and prejudicial interests – described himself as a "friend and supporter of the school". He added: "The loss of the tree is a price worth paying, and I look to planting further trees to mitigate." Anne Claxton continued: "There is not one person here who would not like the school to have much needed sports facilities, but I feel strongly for the people who live at the north end of The Causeway because of the increased noise from this extension. "In my experience, a dot com store will lead to more traffic, more noise, and more rubbish. I am not convinced that Tesco has the best interest of the town at heart," she said. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Cartwright spoke of the council's hands being tied, adding: "This may not seem to some of us to be totally Petersfield, but I don't think we have any grounds to turn it down." Jennifer Gray spoke of a "golden opportunity for the school", before Dorothy Denston remarked: "TPS should go back to the drawing board to try to save that tree." Chairman Sam James hurried the debate along, saying: "I like that tree, but what I like and don't like is not a legitimate planning reason," before requesting that the council did not win a "pyrrhic victory", that could see rejection by EHDC upturned by the planning inspectorate. In a final vote, the council voted 8-2 in favour of the application.