THE old primary school site in Okehampton is 'entirely inappropriate' for the town's third supermarket, according to a West Devon Borough councillor.

Conservative Cllr Jayne Hill said she could not support the application by German supermarket giant Lidl for School Way because of the traffic congestion and risk to children's safety she felt would result from it.

'I am not against having a Lidl supermarket in the town — I think there are many people in the town who would benefit from it — but the site is totally wrong,' she said.

The councillor said the impact on School Way, which was the route to the primary school, would be huge with a third supermarket in the area.

'It is mad to have another supermarket within 800 metres of Waitrose and Somerfield,' she added.

'I cannot believe the common sense of it — it would be fine on Exeter's Marsh Barton Industrial Estate but not here.'

With so much new housing proposed for the east side of town, Cllr Hill said that would be the perfect place for the store.

But planning officers have said in the past their policy to keep town centres alive is to steer away from out-of-town supermarkets.

'Over the next few years there will be huge development in the area of Giblands estate and these residents' shopping needs will not be catered for,' she added.

'We have to look at services and accessibility — in the South East of the country there are corner shops and Co-op stores everywhere but people still do their main shopping in town centres.'

Cllr Hill said it might suit the borough council to have the store on the site of the old primary school but not necessarily the people of Okehampton and that was what mattered.

'A low cost supermarket like Lidl is beneficial to the town especially to the families on low incomes but I think if the current site is the only site as far as the borough council is concerned then we should go without it.

'The proposed site is entirely inappropriate — there is already congestion in that area and if Lidl is built School Way will become a very busy road.'

She said the movement of articulated delivery lorries to and from the site would pose a danger to the children going to school.

Cllr Hill said she hoped members would take note of her concerns when the Lidl application came up for discussion at the borough council's planning committee on August 1.