Bovey Tracey, one of few comparable towns in the region not to have a supermarket on the doorstep, is being eyed up by Sainsbury's.

The retailer has been in talks with the town council about fields off Le Molay Littry Way, opposite De Tracey Park.

The news has prompted independent retailers to say the public might have to choose between one-stop convenience shopping or a thriving high street.

Mayor Cllr Rob Bray, a Fore Street fruiterer, stressed Sainsbury's had made no offer, but he felt something had to be done to stem the flow of households, estimated at 70 per cent, who were going elsewhere for their weekly shop. 

'This is a major shopping leakage out of Bovey Tracey and the town council is looking at ways in which we can retain more of our shoppers and keep more money in the locality and therefore try to get more residents to acknowledge the excellent variety and quality of shops we have here in Bovey Tracey as well as our fortnightly farmers' market in Union Square,' he said.

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