Any move to lodge a legal challenge against the retailer could delay construction of its first Inverness store by at least one year and cost taxpayers up to £100,000 if Highland Council loses.

Asda wants to build a £25 million supermarket at Slackbuie and had originally been willing to stump up £1.5 million towards road improvements at the congested Inshes roundabout and on the A9 slip road, but when Scottish ministers said it was not necessary they withdrew the commitment.

Council solicitor Karen MacLeod told councillors this week that the authority welcomed ministers' approval of Asda's plan, but was "disappointed" there was no reference to planning gain.

Legal advice has now been sought by the council on whether it could mount an appeal to the Court of Session — a move which Ms MacLeod warned would not be cheap.

The council said yesterday it was too early to speculate on how much it may cost, but according to experts it is likely to be in the region of around £30,000 to £40,000.

However, if any such challenge is lost by the council it could also be forced to pay out costs to both Asda and the Scottish Government, bringing the total expense to near £100,000.

The alternative to the council lodging an appeal, which could take up to a year, is for officials to seek a high level meeting with Asda bosses.

Calls have already been made for the retailer to renew its pledge and yesterday Asda sent strong signals that it would prefer to resolve the matter out of court.

"Not only could such a course of action incur costs, it will also cause massive delays in securing Asda's first store in the Highlands and delay the creation of up to 400 jobs and significant investment that it brings with it," a company spokesman said. "We ask that Highland Council continues to work with Asda to avoid such a drawn out affair and seeks to resolve this matter as amicably and promptly as possible."

The council believes ministers were wrong not to stipulate that Asda carry out road improvements in the interests of public safety and is eager to attract a contribution from the developer, particularly to avoid the burden falling on local taxpayers.

The council, which is faced with having to make savings of £100 million over the next four years, has already spent substantial amounts of money on the Asda public inquiry, which was held in March this year. Expenditure on the inquiry totalled £19,000 at the end of the financial year.

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