July 11 - Property investor Land Securities and supermarket chain J Sainsbury are working on plans for a near 600,000-square-foot retail development in south Birmingham, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A Sainsbury's supermarket in London - photo: corbis

The pair, through their Harvest joint venture, are looking to submit planning application later this summer, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Land Securities, the UK's largest listed landlord, declined to comment about the proposed development on the 30-acre Battery Park site in south Birmingham. A spokesman for J Sainsbury was not immediately able to comment.

The proposed development already has planning consent for a mixed-use development, but this would be revised to 430,500 square feet of retail space with a 150,000 sq ft supermarket anchor, the source said.

(Reporting by Andrew Macdonald; Editing by David Cowell)