SMALL traders in Bovey Tracey must adapt if they are to survive, a town councillor has said. The comment came at a Bovey Tracey Town Council meeting this week when once again the proposed Lidl store was being discussed at a planning committee meeting.
The committee were considering the revised application which would see a supermarket on the entrance to the town in Monks Way.
One resident voiced concerns about impacts on outlying towns, fearing shops in those areas might not survive, and if so residents unable to drive would be unable to shop. He asked whether the council had considered these impacts as well as those in Bovey Tracey itself, citing Cullompton where a number of local retailers had closed following the arrival of supermarkets.
The council said an invitation to the Business in Bovey group had not been taken up and an impact assessment estimated the main stores affected would be Newton Abbot supermarkets, leading to a reduction in carbon emissions locally.
However, there would be some fall in revenue for Bovey Tracey shops. The Co-op would be the most affected, facing a projected 8.6 per cent drop in takings, prompting one councillor to say that business rely on competition and the Bovey Tracey traders would have to learn to be more competitive if they wanted to continue.
The latest revisions concerned the appearance of the store, with the rendering being replaced with timber panelling, and a restriction on delivery lorries prohibiting them leaving the site and turning left towards the town. These would only be able to turn right onto Monks Way and away from the town.
Other revisions included:
► A change to the store entrance pitting it on the diagonal
► Tree pits within the car park to improve drainage
► Landscaping to extend the hedgerow into Marriott Way to reduce visibility
► A parapet to screen the rooftop solar panels
► An updated biodersity statement and impact assessment.
The council raised no objection to the revisions but reasserted their caveats on delivery times and noise levels.