ONE of Tavistock's major chainstores has spoken out against supermarket developments on the edge of town, urging planners to make the right decision on future planning applications for a Tesco and Asda store.

M&Co (Mackays) claims that granting consent for new supermarkets in Plymouth Road will finish the town as a thriving hub.

The company, which is one of the largest privately owned fashion retailers with more than 260 stores across the UK, is making a plea to planners, saying they should do what is right for the long term viability of the town.

Tesco will be submitting a planning application for a store at the former Focus site in the next few weeks and Asda has indicated its interest in a greenfield site opposite Bishopsmead, also in Plymouth Road.

In a letter to planners, Chairman of M&Co Iain McGeoch said what his company was experiencing in many of its locations was a situation where officials responsible for awarding planning consent for supermarkets out of town and on the edge of town did not appreciate the consequences that followed.

He said he was not complaining about increased competition but rather the consequences of the drop in pedestrian flow to the existing town centre because the distance between the existing shopping and the proposed supermarket was too far.

He said:?'A planning decision giving consent will ultimately finish the town as a thriving retail hub and it doesn't have to be this way.

'Supermarkets and developers are very experienced at presenting a very rosy picture of how it will all pan out with more jobs and a thriving existing town centre.

'In my experience it does not work out like that as customers will not park twice or walk more than 200 metres to shop in two different places.

'Customers will buy their convenience food at the supermarket, eg their mince, and will return to the quality butcher in the existing town centre when they want steak. The butcher can't survive only selling steak and over time he will close.

'As more of the existing retailers close, their places are often taken by charity shops and some lie empty and less customers come to the town centre.'

Mr McGeoch said decisions to grant planning for out of town or edge of town supermarket development had had a dramatic downward effect on the town centres of Marlborough, Great Malvern, Trowbridge, Penzance and Welshpool.

'Our stores in Marlborough, Great Malvern and Trowbridge are no longer trading profitably and their future is under review with at least two likely to close.

'In Welshpool the road system was also altered to suit the supermarket to the detriment of the town centre.'

The M&Co chairman added that Bicester, Crewkerne, Wimborne Minster and Calne were examples of towns where supermarket development had helped to keep the shopping cohesive — these were where they were closer to the town centre and adequate central shopping was available for both locations.

He said decision makers should visit other towns so they could see the impact of good and poor planning decisions, the latter demonstrated by numerous empty shops.

'The future of Tavistock as a viable trading entity is in your hands,' he told planners. 'Please make the decision that is right for the long term viability of the town and not for the developer's profit.'

Chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce Nigel Eadie said: 'We would concur with the comments made by M&Co. We are not against supermarkets in the right place but clearly the former Focus site is out of town and there will be an obvious impact on the town centre.

'The supermarkets themselves accept that there will be an impact —it may be 5%, 10% or 15%, but as a town centre we cannot absorb that. Any impact will be detrimental.'

Two consultation events have been held in Tavistock about the proposed Tesco development. The retail giant says it would be a medium-sized store offering more choice to the people of the town and bringing a building which had been empty for 18 months back into use.