Bray town council has given the green light to Superquinn for the construction of a shopping centre on the 1.78 acre site at the Southern Cross road despite the fact that it remains unclear whether the land is owned by the local council or Wicklow County Council.

"It could be the case that Bray town council, having voted to permit the shopping centre to go ahead, ends up not getting one penny for it, " said Green party councillor, Deirdre De Burca.

Although the land was purchased jointly by the two authorities it is registered to Wicklow county council.

Local councillors have in the past sought clarification of the ownership issue when previous proposals for the development of the land were under discussion.

Last month, the Superquinn offer was accepted by the council following an auction process for the site. The proposed shopping centre complex will include a supermarket, eight shops, a health centre, a restaurant and 700 car parking spaces.

Formal planning permission for the development is expected to be granted within three months.

"The idea that at the end of a five-year process, the manager still can't tell the elected representatives whether the money raised is going to go to the town or the county council is unacceptable, " said De Burca.

Town clerk Christine Flood said "there is no confusion and there is no controversy" over the ownership of the site.

"The land is actually registered to Wicklow county council but it was purchased by the two authorities, " she said. Flood said it is "not necessarily" the case that money procured from the sale would therefore end up in county council coffers. "That's a matter for the members of the county council, the members of Bray town council and the management of Wicklow county council."

According to De Burca, Bray town already gets bad value for moneys paid annually to the county council.

"This is a bone of contention between the two councils.

Last year we paid 4m for services which we believe are not up to scratch. The Southern Cross road where this shopping complex is to be located is a perfect example.

It's a very important entry road to Bray and it falls within Wicklow county council's jurisdiction. It's unkempt and badly maintained and it's without landscaping. As well as that there's no pedestrian crossing.

"Wicklow county council is on the offensive at the moment trying to persuade businesses to locate here. But the first business park you come across in the county is the one on the badly maintained Southern Cross Road."

Fianna Fail local councillor Pat Vance said he has concerns about the proposed development.

"There is no doubt that local people need shopping facilities up there, but I'm not sure they need what Superquinn have in mind. I have no problem with what I would term neighbourhood facilities including maybe an 8,000 or 10,000sq ft supermarket. You already have a 30,000sq ft Tesco half a mile away.

"Shops in the nearby Vevay area are certainly going to suffer, there's no doubt about that. Already a few of the small village-type shops there are idle and they haven't managed to be let."

Deirdre De Burca agreed.

"We've already granted planning permission for the Florentine Centre off the main street and for a large quantum of retail development on the golf club lands. The council should be aiming to consolidate the town centre rather than granting permission for larger-than-necessary out-of-town centres which is effectively what this will be."

Pat Vance anticipates increased traffic congestion once the retail centre is built.

"The road is already busy.

We are talking about bringing 7,000 or 8,000 cars a day into the area. I remember when that road was built, about 18 years ago, the engineers told us they didn't want many openings off it. Well, there are already quite a few and at this stage we're pushing things to the limit."

A consortium named Select Retail Holdings last year bought the chain of 21 Superquinn stores for 450m. Superquinn chairman Simon Burke says it is premature to comment on the Bray proposal.