KINGSTEIGNTON Town Council has formally objected to plans to build a Co-op store at land at a popular pub in the town.

The town council has said that the proposal for a new convenience store at the Ten Tors Inn would have an ‘adverse impact’ on highway safety, residential amenity, biodiversity, accessibility and the ‘continued community value of the existing public house’.

As such, the town council, at its most recent planning meeting on June 3, formally objected to the proposal.

The town council is also calling for the application to be referred to the planning committee at Teignbridge Council.

The move comes as several members of the public have also objected to the planning application.

Submitted by Aspect Developments Ltd, the application - reference 26/00175/FUL - is seeking permission for the construction of a convenience store at land forming part of the Ten Tors Inn, namely an area of car parking and one of the pub’s beer gardens.

In February, a spokesperson for the Co-op told the Mid-Devon Advertiser that, subject to planning consent and approval, they would operate the store, adding it would create local jobs.

Teignbridge Council are due to make a decision by July 13.

Several objectors claim the new store will negatively affect traffic in the area, while others questioned the need for another connivence store in the area.

But according to the planning statement for 26/00175/FUL, the proposal has come about as a result of the Applicant identifying ‘an under-provision of retail provision of a “local” scale in the area in question’.

St Austell Brewery, the freeholder of the site, said its focus was on ‘protecting the future of the pub and ensuring it continues to thrive at the heart of the community’.

The planning statement goes on to say: ‘The settlement of Kingsteignton has a core commercial area in its southern portion, which is then complimented by a number of local convenience stores outside it.

‘However, there is currently no provision to serve the local population within the vicinity of the application site, which is a deficit this application seeks to address’.

The application has received some voices of support, however.

Supporters say the new store will bring employment opportunities, as well as greater choice for customers.

To view the associated planning documents in full, including Kingsteignton Town Council’s objection, visit Teignbridge Council’s planning portal and enter ‘26/00175/FUL’ into the search-box.