SOME traders in Tavistock?Chamber of Commerce are calling for a special meeting to be held to ascertain the views of all members on the Tesco supermarket plan.

The traders are from the Plymouth?Road area, close to the site of the proposed supermarket.

They spoke out at a chamber meeting on?Monday, claiming the organisation's publicised opposition to a supermarket on the former Focus DIY site did not reflect the views of all members.

But the chamber says there is significant concern from shopkeepers that a Tesco store on the site would impact too heavily on town centre trade.

A planning consultant has been appointed to fight the supermarket application on behalf of the chamber as was done five years ago when Sainsbury's attempted to gain planning consent for a large superstore on the edge of town.

The Plymouth Road traders have expressed support for the Tesco supermarket bid, saying it would bring the existing building on the site — which they claim is an 'eyesore' and detrimental to their businesses — back into use.

Peter Harding, of Fairway Furniture, the first out of town business to set up in Tavistock 37 years ago, said he had circulated all 80 members of the chamber and on Tuesday had secured enough support for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to be called, in line with the chamber's constitution.

The chamber is a consultee on the proposal and has to submit its views to planning authority West Devon Borough Council by July 18.

Mr Harding added: 'We would like a vote taken to clarify the chamber's position.

'We cannot be sure that the view of five years ago has not changed as this application is distinctively different from the Sainsbury's one in that it is not a greenfield site, there is an existing building there, lying empty and this store would be half the size of the Sainsbury proposal.

'The constitution states that one of the objects of the chamber is to promote plans and schemes to further improve and secure the trading and commercial interests of the town of Tavistock and its neighbourhood, not just the town centre.'

Martin Hawkins, of Tavistock Picture Framing Gallery, close to Plymouth Road, claimed that up to 15 businesses in that area would benefit from the site being brought back into use as it would create more jobs.

Chairman Nigel Eadie said the view of the chamber had been consistent against edge of town supermarkets — it followed local and national planning guidelines that there should be a bias towards town centres, 'because if the town centre dies there will be a detrimental effect on the businesses around the town'.

He said it was simply not the case that the chamber was anti-supermarket: 'To decide an EGM is the way forward on this basis is wrong — if a supermarket wanted to come into the town and met with local and national planning policy we would welcome them in.

'But too many towns and shopping areas have been decimated by out of town shopping developments and become ghost towns.

'It is fairly obvious that chambers of commerce have to protect the vitality of town centres and many people have said to me "thank G­od someone is speaking up and trying to protect our town".'

Fish and chip shop owner Louise Jackman said she was neither for or against the Tesco scheme but she believed if people were interested or had a view they would have attended chamber meetings by now.

'I have been coming to these meetings for four years and I always see the same faces around the table. We are the ones who take the time to be here and have our say.

'I do not see the point of calling an extraordinary meeting because if members were interested they would be here a lot more often.'

Adam Fleet from the Tavistock Enterprise Hub said the issue could only be resolved by having an EGM so a response from the chamber was given the appropriate amount of gravity.

'We can then be confident in saying we are for or against having taken a vote from all members,' he said.