Redevelopment plans for a key site in Bury St Edmunds might have to be “mothballed,” a landowner had said, due to lack of support from St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

The landowners of the Tayfen Road site have been hoping to bring forward a development with a mix of uses, including a supermarket - understood to be Morrisons - housing and a hotel.

Clive Morris, who owns part of the site, asked council leader John Griffiths at a full council meeting on Monday whether the authority supported the landowners’ plans or not. Mr Griffiths said he was not persuaded piecemeal development was the best overall result for that area, but he was “extremely supportive” of redevelopment as soon as possible.

Mr Morris - who owns about 25% of the land with John Gill as part of the Tayfen Road Partnership - said officers were “not being as proactive as they should be,” adding: “Piecemeal development is something none of us want.”

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Morris said the landowners had been trying to develop the site, which is about 18/20 acres, for 10 years.

“If we don’t get support from the council I’m afraid it could possibly be mothballed,” he added.

The existing masterplan for the site, based on adopted policy in the borough council’s 2006 local plan, includes a mixture of residential, a small supermarket, retail warehousing and a hotel.

In a statement the site’s landowners - CCIF Ltd, National Grid and the Tayfen Road Partnership - said: “The landowners have worked hard to bring forward a viable scheme on this difficult brownfield site by promoting an opportunity which brings much-needed regeneration to this area of the town, results in the removal of the gas holder and creates hundreds of new jobs. In the light of the council’s stance the site’s future will be reviewed.”

A borough council spokeswoman said: “The council has not received a planning application for the site, and any application would be considered on its merits alongside the adopted policy.”