A SECOND supermarket chain has announced it is looking to open a store in Tavistock's Plymouth Road — Lidl will submit a planning application in the next few months, hot on the heels of the controversial Sainsbury's proposal. Speaking exclusively to the Times this week, the European store said it would be applying for planning permission to redevelop a retail site which currently houses the Re-furnish furniture store, a fish and chip shop (the old MacDonald's branch) and the old piano centre. Planners are due to discuss Sainsbury's application to build a supermarket at the Brook site in Plymouth Road next month. Both schemes are on land close to Tavistock's one out-of-town superstore Morrison's. Development executive for Lidl Oliver McGuinness said the German superstore had long had an interest in Tavistock, having tried ten years ago to get planning consent for the old Radmore's Garage site. Although supported by Tavistock Town Council it was turned down by West Devon Borough Council because of the impact on the town and dismissed on appeal. 'In the last ten years the town has grown and planning policy has moved on,' said Mr McGuinness. 'For ten years nothing has really happened in terms of retail in Tavistock and we are offering a deliverable alternative shopping destination. 'The borough council has identified a need for additional retail floorspace in Tavistock and Lidl is seeking to meet that identified need.' Unlike Sainsbury's which is applying to build on designated employment land for uses other than retail, the site proposed by Lidl has a history of retail use. Once seen as a store for low earners because of its lower priced goods, Mr McGuinness said Lidl's customer base was now very wide and research showed that Tavistock residents were shopping in Lidl stores in Plymouth, Launceston and Okehampton. The planned store is 1,329 square metres and has a predicted turnover of £3-million. It is intended to build it into the corner of the site and provide 70 car parking spaces. Sainsbury's wants to build a 4,873 square metre supermarket and says it is likely to have a turnover of £22-million. On the 3.8 hectare Brook site it is also looking to provide a 349-space car park, petrol station, 17 business units and an office block for possible use by the police. The borough council's planning chief Jane Hart said the reason for refusing Lidl's proposal back in 1998 was that the establishment of an out-of-town supermarket could be detrimental to the town centre by reinforcing Plymouth Road as an alternative retail destination. It was also considered that it was not readily accessible by means of transport and would increase the volumes of traffic leaving a class A road. She said: 'We have had an independent retail assessment carried out and it is the view of the consultants that there is a significant leakage of expenditure from the borough to elsewhere for food shopping. 'A number of different scenarios have been suggested but this is not the same as the borough council adopting a position that there should be additional retailing. 'It is up to any developer who wants to put in a planning application for retail development to give us a very good retail assessment — not just the benefits to themselves but how it is going to impact, particularly on the town centre and other retail shops in West Devon.' Chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce Nigel Eadie said: 'The chamber very much wishes to promote and enhance Tavistock as a whole, but specifically the town centre. 'We are not intrinsically against commercial activity on this site, but we are keen to encourage investment which contributes to the vitality and viability of the town centre. 'Anything like the Lidl proposal — which could, potentially have a negative impact on the town centre — is something which we would need to review very carefully. 'As yet, we understand a planning application has not been submitted, and so we will need to examine the detail of any proposals which are forthcoming.'