PLANS for a Sainsbury?s supermarket and business park in Tavistock have been submitted to West Devon Borough Council following a public consultation last month. A spokesman for the company said various changes had been made to the scheme after taking on board comments from the public, including reducing the size of the petrol station and moving employment units further away from neighbouring properties. The proposed 3.8 hectare site opposite Bishopsmead would include a store similar in size to Morrison?s superstore next door with a coffee shop, 16 business units, a four-pump petrol station, 349-space car park and recycling facilities. Sainsbury?s also plans to build a new roundabout at the junction of Bishopsmead, with a service road off the main Plymouth Road. A decision on the plan is likely to be made before Christmas, a spokesperson for West Devon Borough Council said this week. There will now be a 21-day consultation period for anyone to put forward their views. Five hundred people attended an exhibition by the supermarket giant in Tavistock?s Bedford Hotel last month. Sainsbury?s regional development executive, Jamie Cowen, said: ?We were delighted with the positive response we received to our proposals during our recent public consultation ? 62% of respondents expressed support for the scheme. ?We have been able to adapt our proposals in light of some of the comments made and now look forward to discussing the finer details of the scheme with West Devon Borough Council during the statutory consultation process.? Changes to the plans include more direct pedestrian access from the bus stop on Plymouth Road to the store entrance, additional pedestrian access to the car park opposite the entrance to Bishopsmead, maximised use of landscaping to reduce visual impact, employment units moved further away from properties at the south western boundary of the site and the reduction of two pumps at the petrol station. Mr Cowen added: ?We will continue to work in partnership with the council and the community and remain confident that we will be able to assist in boosting Tavistsock?s competitiveness by delivering a quality and choice in food shopping which local people clearly told us is missing in the town.? Since the plans were announced, the scheme has provoked debate in the town on the subject of out of town supermarkets. The development has also received opposition from people who do not think that the town can cope with two large supermarkets, that the store would be too far away from the town centre and it could result in the ?ruination? of Tavistock?s small independent shops and its market character. And the site which has been selected by Sainsbury?s is classed as ?employment development land? ? retail use does not fall within this category in planning terms.
