As I think Michael has said elsewhere, it's not the number of objectors but whether the application complies with planning policy.

I haven't seen anything in the Sainsbury's discussion that refers to specifc planning policy that's being breached. I'd rather a Sainsbury's Local than a corner shop. Hills and Parkes are serving a different market. There are many locations in the city that show that other businesses can co-exist with a supermarket - they just need to differentiate themselves.