Billed as the firm’s flagship store for west Wales, the supermarket plan also includes a hospital and a GPs’ surgery at the Bath House site in Cardigan.

Civil engineering and demolition contractor Cuddy is currently finishing off a £4.2m ground preparation contract at the site which is due to be handed over to developer Liberty Mercian by the Spring.

Cuddy has had a 55-man team on site using a fleet of ten excavators to complete the groundworks.

A council spokesman said the development control committee dealt with an application “purely for the Sainsbury’s foodstore and non-food retailing units”.

A spokeswoman added: “The application follows the grant of outline planning permission which established the principle of the development.”

The Bath House project has received dozens of objections, and has been dogged by setbacks.

It received outline planning permission in 2006 following a public inquiry in the previous year.