Three development companies and two food operators are interested in brightening up Wealdstone, but a supermarket could be off the menu.

The shocking admission was made by Geoff Easton, Harrow Council's head of property and development, who said the chances of attracting a major supermarket chain to the area were slim.

Beleaguered traders have been told to put aside their hopes of a foodstore rejuvenating the town after the Headstone Drive site got the thumbs down from major companies.

"We have approached all the main food operators and none have really expressed an interest. We have had a number of other approaches but these are much smaller food operators than we were originally considering," Mr Easton told members of the Wealdstone Regeneration Panel last week.

"However, I'm not able to say anything more about these negotiations, although they do involve a small food store and residential accommodation."

Last July, Sainsbury's abandoned its much-heralded proposals for a branch in the town despite two years of negotiation. It claimed the site was not commercially viable.

That had not come as a surprise to the chairman of Wealdstone traders, Ron Lucas, who stressed again at the meeting that the previously interested company Asda had been back in touch.

"Wealdstone used to be a thriving and bustling town but has not been so since the opening of the bypass. Effectively the whole area has been blighted and will continue to be until the leadership is taken up by someone," he added.