TESCO has been raking in more than £50,000 a year in fees from its 'poorly-lit, pothole-ridden' car park in Horncastle.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show they received parking fees of £52,873.22 in the financial year 2008/9.
A Horncastle man who obtained these figures from East Lindsey District Council and wished to remain anonymous, aske
d: "Why can't they use this money to maintain the car park?"
After the News ran a story last week about Marion Robins, 74, who said she fell in a car park pothole, and accused Tesco of 'not taking the hazard seriously', the company promised to carry out improvements.
But this is 'too late' for many people who think 'the work should have been done a long time ago'.
Those who shop after dark have described the car park as everything from 'poorly lit' to 'un-nerving'.
There have been complaints about lighting, pothole hazards and the lack of an adequate footpath. All of this comes as Tesco confirmed it is preparing plans for a bigger replacement store in the town's Reindeer Close industrial estate.
Tesco spokesman Jo Dixon confirmed the company would be holding a public consultation on this possible new store in the coming weeks which could be up to 100 per cent larger than the current site on Watermill Road.
He said: "If people are happy then we will go ahead with the application."
He also said these new plans would not affect their commitment to sorting out the current car park.
He said: "We are aware of the problem and will look to resolve it as soon as possible.
"We are also in the process of conducting a full car park lighting survey and will make any necessary improvements that this suggests."
Tesco opened its current store in 2003 after purchasing it from the Lincolnshire Co-op.
East Lindsey District Council owns the car park and leases it to the company who they said is responsible for its maintenance.
