Days later they put in a further planning application for a slightly smaller food superstore, this time 50, 000 sq ft.

ECONOMIST: Newcastle: The best laid plans | The

Hart, in the north-east corner of Hampshire, has been dubbed "a step back in time", with 84 sq miles of green wooded landscape and the county's largest freshwater lake, Fleet Pond.

BBC: Hart in Hampshire remains UK's most desirable place

In October 1996, the Shepherds submitted another planning application, this time for a 58, 000 sq ft food superstore.

ECONOMIST: Newcastle: The best laid plans | The

Originally laid out by Emperor Yongle between 1406 and 1420 with the help of a mere million labourers, the complex is so vast - 800 buildings with 9, 000 rooms spread out over 720, 000 sq metres - that a full-time restoration squad is continuously repainting and repairing.

BBC: Beijing's once Forbidden City

The new 280, 000 sq ft (26, 000 sq m) four-storey John Lewis store, which opened for the first time at 0930 BST, will employ almost 800 people.

BBC: 'Store wars' as John Lewis opens