SAINSBURY has withdrawn its controversial plan for a superstore on the edge of Tavistock less than two weeks before it was due to be discussed by West Devon planners. But the company said this week it was still committed to ?pursuing planning consent and delivering the store?. Planning officers have requested the company to re-look at its proposals because of their major concerns over employment land being used for retail purposes. The supermarket giant had incorporated 16 business units into its plan for the large 3.8 hectare site opposite the Bishopsmead estate on Plymouth Road, but the majority of the land was for a superstore and 349-space car park. The site is the last remaining substantial piece of employment land in the local plan for Tavistock which runs until 2011. It would provide different types of jobs than retail. Tavistock Chamber of Commerce was due to fight the proposal on this issue ? and its fear that an ?out of town? location would have a detrimental effect on town centre businesses ? at the meeting of the planning authority on December 11. The chamber had also hired the borough?s former chief planning officer, Stephen Gill, to spearhead the campaign. But a Sainsbury?s spokesperson said this week the application would be resubmitted: ?We are committed to opening a store in Tavistock and still believe that our proposals will provide the town with a quality food retail offer of appropriate scale to stem the flow of people currently travelling elsewhere for their main food shopping. ?We have withdrawn our application temporarily in order to compile certain supplementary information which has been requested by planning officers at West Devon. ?We are co-operating with officers to provide this information and do not believe this withdrawal will impact on our overall programme for pursuing planning consent and delivering the store.? Planning officer Ed Persse said further information had been required on various issues but the fundamental issue was that in the local plan the land was allocated for employment use. ?The retail use that Sainsbury is proposing for the site takes up virtually the whole site and the amount of employment land is not sufficient,? he said. ?Most of it is supermarket and car park and that is not considered to be employment.? Chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce Nigel Eadie said he would agree and support the borough council in defending the position of the site which had a specific use. He also said that the chamber supported Government guidance to discourage out of town supermarkets. ?In Tavistock this would very much threaten the commercial vitality and sustainability of the town,? he said. Former planning chief Mr Gill said the council fought for the land to be designated for employment againat opposition from people who wanted it to be used for retail and housing. The plan for a second large supermarket for Tavistock has met with mixed reaction from local people. A public exhibition by the supermarket giant in the summer was attended by 500 people with 62% of people expressing support for the scheme, according to Sainsbury. But two public meetings have been held to gauge opposition for the plan, the second of which was attended by more than 100 traders and residents.
