TESCO’S millionaire chief executive Sir Terry Leahy appeared to reject a peace offer designed to end a bitter dispute over a key Liverpool regeneration scheme.

Last week the Daily Post revealed how Liverpool Council wrote to Tesco asking to buy the supermarket’s land in north Liverpool needed for the £150m Project Jennifer regeneration scheme involving rival Sainsbury’s.

But in an exclusive interview, Sir Terry, who sits on the board of the council’s regeneration agency Liverpool Vision, told the Daily Post the supermarket wants to proceed with its own plans.

He said: “We own the land there and we would like to open a store which we would ensure trades very successfully and we would be happy to work with the city council on that.

His comments are the latest twist in a row over the regeneration of the Great Homer Street area of Everton.

At the heart of the argument is the scale of the plans for the area.

The city council’s plan includes a 110,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s supermarket, non-food retail stores, a market hall, 481 new homes, a health centre, a new library and some industrial space.

Tesco itself wants to build a 27,000 sq ft superstore and indoor and outdoor markets.

Neither party can proceed with the separate schemes without the other’s land.

Sir Terry said: “We’re a big investor on Merseyside – Kirkby and a very, very good scheme in Toxteth – we have just opened at Litherland and we have just extended at Deysbrook and just opened in Liverpool One.

“So we have many successful developments under way on Merseyside and this is another one.

“We own the land there and we would like to open a store which we would ensure trades very successfully and we would be happy to work with the city council on that.

“It is a shame that the appointed developer St Modwen has been unable to lead the regeneration.”

When asked if the company was still going head to head with Sainsbury he said: “Yes, in a number of other places.

“A bit of healthy competition is good for us all. I think the consumer is the winner. I think it’s a sign of the growing success of Liverpool that we have people competing to invest.”

He also said the supermarket chain was still open to including Everton FC in its plans for Kirkby.