WEST Devon Borough Council is facing legal action by one of its own councillors, over its controversial decision to grant consent for a Tesco superstore in Tavistock. The move comes months after the council clocked up a £50,000 bill fighting a lengthy legal battle against itself over the same site. The former Focus site in Plymouth Road has been dogged by problems and its future has, once again, been thrown into doubt. Cllr Robert Oxborough, chairman of the council's communities services committee and a Conservative ward member for Tavistock South, is seeking a judicial review of the planning consent given in January this year for change of use of the former Focus building at Plymouth Road Industrial Estate, because he believes the planning decision was unlawful. Morrisons supermarket also confirmed this week that it was supporting a judicial review to get the planning application re-examined. Cllr Oxborough claims that, due to a procedural error, he was prevented from speaking at the planning meeting where Tesco was discussed. He said he was therefore unable to give additional information which was significant to the application and could have persuaded members to vote against the development, which won through on a six to four vote. Planning officers had recommended the application for refusal because of its potential impact on town centre trade. If the High Court approves the application for a judicial review, the outcome may not be known for more than a year. The move has come as a 'devastating blow' to supporters of the Tesco plan, including businesses on the Plymouth Road Industrial and Retail Park who this week claimed that the financial consequences could be 'horrendous'. Last year the borough council spent £50,000 on a court action against its own planning decision which dated back to 2007, when the authority approved a DIY store for the Plymouth Road site — but failed to impose a restriction on it as a non-food outlet. This effectively paved the way for supermarket development. The council lost its court action as its application for a judicial review was found to be outside the time limit in which a legal challenge could be made. Cllr Oxborough said given the history of the site and the cost already to the taxpayer, lodging a legal challenge against his own council was not an easy thing to do. He said there was information within the council's 'benchmark study', carried out last November into the health of Tavistock town centre, which clearly indicated the fragility of the town's trading community — yet this report did not form any part of the evidence at the planning meeting. 'This evidence should have been presented to the committee,' he said. 'It revealed information such as nearly two thirds of independent retailers who took part in the survey experiencing a downturn in profits over the past year. 'It was quite clear at the planning meeting that it was a knife-edge vote and it is not beyond possibility that I might have influenced one or more of the members to change their minds, had I been allowed to speak. 'I believe it is the right thing to do to apply for a judicial review. I would not do something of this magnitude unless I had good reason to do so.' Chairman of Tavistock BID (Business Improvement District) Tony Whitehead said there was very little debate at the planning meeting about the current condition of town trading: He said: 'The impact on the town was pretty much glossed over so I will be glad if this application is re-examined with the benchmark statistics available to the committee.' Chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce Nigel Eadie said: 'The benchmarking exercise contained crucially important information that gave a clear indication of the health of the high street and it is incredible that this did not feature in any reports or divulged to the planning committee. 'It is absolutely inevitable that this would have made a huge impact on the decision outcome.' But Plymouth Road and town centre trader Martin Hawkins said he felt Tesco would keep shoppers in Tavistock as currently they were going to Roborough, Launceston, Callington and Okehampton. 'The Tesco development was just about to start and due to open for Christmas,' he said. 'This is a devastating blow. It was going to create 100 or so jobs itself and 40 more jobs for the estate. 'It is just unbelievable. Our rates keep going up and now West Devon will have to spend a lot more of our rate money on defending this court action. 'If any business is looking to locate to Tavistock we should say yes — we cannot trade in isolation.' Cllr Alison Clish-Green, borough ward member for Tavistock South West, said: 'As far as I'm concerned the planning committee was conducted properly and fairly, following the council's procedures at all times. 'At no time during the meeting did Cllr Oxborough indicate he wished to speak, but anyway that would be at the chair's discretion.' Cllr Clish Green said following a complaint by Cllr Oxborough, the council undertook a formal investigation and no procedural errors were found. She said:?'I thought the matter had been concluded and we were looking forward to welcoming Tesco to Tavistock, along with the added benefits of numerous new jobs and the re-instatement of a derelict brown-field site. 'I think this is a serious and sad situation; whatever the outcome of a judicial review, it will inevitably cause a delay and undoubtedly cost the borough's tax payers a considerable amount of money.' The former Focus site is owned by Marchfield Properties Ltd. The company was unavailable for comment on the news as the Times went to press. A spokesperson for Morrisons said: 'We believe that there are solid grounds to initiate a judicial review of the council's decision and are taking appropriate steps.' West Devon Borough Council said it had not yet received a formal notification regarding the lodging of a judicial review application.  'If we do receive a notification the council will deal with it accordingly,' said a spokesperson.