WEST Devon Borough Council?s former chief planning officer has been recruited to spearhead the fight against a Sainsbury supermarket in Tavistock when it goes before the planning committee soon. Stephen Gill, who left the council a year ago, will argue the case against building the supermarket on designated employment land in Plymouth Road on behalf of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce. The chamber feels the ?out-of-town? supermarket would have a ?severe, detrimental effect on the vitality and viability of all businesses within the town centre?. A second public meeting to gauge opposition to the proposal was held at the Bedford Hotel last week and was attended by more than 100 traders and residents. Mr Gill said he was delighted to represent the chamber on what he considered to be a key planning issue which affected the whole of the economic and commercial aspects of Tavistock. He said the arguments he would be putting forward were exactly the same as those he made on behalf of the borough council at the public inquiry in 2003 into the local development framework. The council fought for the land to be designated for employment against opposition from people who wanted it to be used for retail and housing, said Mr Gill. ?It was a hard won fight and a great victory for the borough council. It may seem like some time ago but the plan was only adopted in 2005 and runs until 2011. ?What we are doing is supporting the borough council?s own approved and adopted policy,? he said. ?Employment land provides different types of jobs than retail.? He added that the inclusion of 16 business units in the proposal for the 3.8 hectare site opposite the Bishopsmead estate was a ?little gesture? by Sainsbury to make some land available for employment use. ?It is just paying lip service to the need for employment land and a few units is not going to do it,? he said. Mr Gill said he would also be talking about the detrimental effect the supermarket would have on the town centre?s viability. Chamber of commerce chairman Nigel Eadie said: ?What we are doing is putting forward in a calm, focused way, a strong and comprehensive case, based on sound planning reasons and relevant material considerations. ?We will fight any proposal that we feel threatens our unique town. ?We are not anti-Sainsburys, we are merely pro town centre and pro Tavistock. It is the fact that this proposal is out-of-town which is the worrying dimension to the planning application.? Five hundred people attended an exhibition by Sainsbury in the town in July and 62% of them expressed support for the scheme, said the supermarket company. Proposals were adapted in line with comments from the public, which included better landscaping and the reduction of two pumps at the petrol station. The application will be considered by the planning committee at either the October or the November meeting.