TOWN traders were celebrating a victory this week after plans for two new supermarkets on the edge of Tavistock were rejected by councillors.

The decision on the Sainsbury and Lidl schemes by West Devon Council's planning committee on Tuesday follows a high profile campaign by local businesses and other objectors to stop out of town supermarkets 'destroying the vitality and viability of the town centre'.

Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and founder of the Brook Campaign Group Nigel Eadie said: 'It is fantastic — amazing for the town. It is really reassuring that the planners are listening to what the business organisations have said. It will help to shape some vision for the future which will protect the business in the town and safeguard the uniqueness of the fantastic place we live in.'

Both applications were refused because they were likely to result in a 'significant and unacceptable detriment' to the town centre.

The Sainsbury store, which was recommended for refusal by planning officers and rejected unanimously by the committee, was also turned down because it would mean a loss of employment land and was against planning policy.

The 3.8 hectare site off Plymouth Road was designated as employment land in 2005 for uses other than retail and if the plan was approved, it would have to go to the Government Office South West. There were 364 letters of objection to the Sainsbury plan.

As well as a petrol station and 339 parking spaces, Sainsbury had included 17 business units and an office block in its plans, which equated to one third of the site being used for employment purposes.

The supermarket had said it would use 'its reasonable endeavours' to secure a replacement piece of land in the area for employment use, but there was a lack of certainty by officers and members over whether this would come to fruition.

While it was felt that Sainsbury would have a significant impact on town centre trade — the company estimated a 20% diversion of trade from Somerfield and other town centre convenience stores — it was considered Lidl would have less of an impact. Officers recommended support for the scheme but it was rejected on the casting vote of committee chairman Philip Sanders.

The German supermarket was applying to build a much smaller store on the existing retail site of the old MacDonald's restaurant, piano centre and Refurnish in Plymouth Road, and included 70 car parking spaces.

The committee was told there would be one delivery vehicle per day coming to the site and chief planning officer Jane Hart said in terms of convenience goods, the store stocked approximately one tenth of that stocked in the larger supermarkets. 'It is the officers' view that the impact on the town centre would be comparatively low,' she said.

But speaking on behalf of the Brook Campaign, planning consultant Stephen Gill claimed the figures supplied by both supermarkets about their effect on the town centre were flawed: 'What they have forgotten to take into account is the fact that the vast majority of people who shop in Somerfield also go to the pannier market, newsagent and buy a pasty. People who go to Lidl will link that with a shop at Morrison's and not come into the town centre.'

Cllr Christine Grills said she did not support either application: 'In 1998 we refused an application for a supermarket in Plymouth Road on the chief planning officer's advice, for the reason that out of town supermarkets would be detrimental to the town centre and that we would be advertising Plymouth Road as an alternative shopping location.'

Cllr Alison Clish Green, who represents the Tavistock South West Ward which includes the two sites in Plymouth Road, said: 'Tavistock is a wonderful town but unless we stop this sort of development it could become an urban sprawl like anywhere else in the country. The town centre is vibrant and viable and a lot of people have worked very hard to make it that way. Any store out of town, whether it is Sainsbury or Lidl or anyone else, is bound to have an effect on the town centre.'

Following the meeting both Lidl and Sainsbury said they would be discussing whether to appeal or make a resubmission to the planning committee.

Regional planning manager for Sainsbury Bruno Moore said he was 'really disappointed'. 'We think a Sainsbury store would bring a lot to Tavistock, including employment today, not in the future,' he said.