ONCE again the chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce is talking of the amount of damage an out of centre supermarket would do to the Tavistock town centre and is organising a campaign to oppose it, the reason being that it would detract trade from the centre (Times, March 14).

By the same token is the chamber going to ban anyone who shops online with Ebay or Amazon, are they going to ban anyone from using catalogue shopping or even ban anyone who lives in Tavistock from shopping on their way home from their work in Plymouth. Of course, all of these are impossibilities but maybe all contribute along with the current national financial situation to why residents are shopping less in all town centres.

It has to be recognised that the viability and well being of a town largely depends on employment and the spending power of those employed locally.

Whilst supermarkets may not be suitable to some it is a fact that they are major employers and offer employment of varying hours that suit many women with young families.?

There are no local industrial/manufacturing employers within the Tavistock area that  employ the same amount of staff as supermarkets even though land has been available, now listed as SP23B in the West Devon Borough Council Core Strategy, for at least the last ten years. This is land that was once designated as 'Industrial Land' and is now for mixed usage, 'Residential and Employment Land' and was the proposed site for the Sainsbury's development.

It is all very well deterring supermarkets and we would probably all like to see a DIY store and industrial employment somewhere in the town but the reality is that none of the major national chains want to come to Tavistock, therefore by deterring supermarkets, investment, employment and town viability is being compromised and what is the chamber offering as an alternative?

Little has been said about the possible increase in the local population between now and 2026. The Core Strategy policy is to provide at least 750 houses by then which could increase the population by 3,000 (average four per household) plus the natural rise in population, say 500 or so by 2026 the population of Tavistock could rise by 3,500 people. The Okehampton and Tavistock Town Centre, Shopping and Leisure Study 2012 commissioned by WDBC figures show that 79% of food shopping is done outside the town centre and that Morrison's is over-trading by 14%. If there is nothing to keep these extra residents in Tavistock they will surely be travelling to Launceston, Callington or Plymouth for their major shopping trips

Perhaps Tavistock Chamber of Commerce, the BID team, Tavistock Town Council and WDBC ought to be working to attract larger scale employers.

Cllr David Cloke

Independent

Walkham Ward

West Devon Borough Council