A PLAN for a third major supermarket in Okehampton has been deferred by planners for further negotiations.

German supermarket giant Lidl is hoping to build on the site of the former primary school in School Way.

West Devon Borough Council's planning committee has decided to hold a preliminary site meeting at the proposed location before it discusses the matter at its next meeting.

The original scheme for the supermarket has been amended to include a riverside walkway and picnic/amenity area but planning officers requested the item be deferred for further negotiations with the applicants.

Okehampton Town Council is prepared to support the application if consideration is given to various matters including a footbridge that links School Way with North Street, restrictions on loading and unloading times and the construction of a Northern link road to ease congestion in Market Street and Fore Street.

Concerns have been raised over the amount of traffic that would be generated by a third supermarket in the same area of town, the close proximity of the development to the river and loss of green space.

Nine letters of objection have been received including ones from Okehampton OK Ltd and the Ockment Centre. One letter has been submitted in support of the application.

The main conclusions in a traffic assessment report are that the store would only have a slight impact on existing traffic levels in the locality.

It said most traffic leading to the supermarket would be either diverted from other stores or involve combined trips to the proposed store and the existing ones.

Traffic analysis showed that the impact on the Market Street/Fore Street junction in a worst case scenario would be to add between one to three vehicles to the queues on the approaches during peak times.

In correspondence with planning officers Lidl indicated that it hoped to gain approval for its proposal at the planning committee's meeting last Tuesday so the store could be built and ready for opening by Christmas 2000.

Ward member for Okehampton Cllr Jayne Hill said that in the town people had a sense of this supermarket being 'bundled on them'.

'We feel this is a fait accompli and this is the site Lidl is going to be built on.

'I am not against a Lidl supermarket but it will have an enormous impact on the town — the traffic congestion will be immense. I have grave concerns about a supermarket on this site.'