Ivybridge Town Councillors on the the Development & Infrastructure Committee have voted by four votes to one in favour of the proposed new Aldi supermarket in Ivybridge.

The decision was taken at a meeting held in public at the Watermark on Monday August 19.

The plan is for an £8m, 2,007 square metre facility on green belt.

Several members of the public spoke with Patrick saying he thought it would be bad for the town centre and he would prefer more independent shops.

He was also concerned about traffic congestion.

Kaitlin was also against the development saying there could be trouble from youths hanging around the car park once the store had closed.

She also said a petition with 590 signatures had been sent in.

Louwenna said it would be an ugly grey building and would be detrimental to the town centre which was struggling.

There were also two people supporting the new supermarket.

Duncan pointed out the 40 new jobs that would be created and said it would be a cheaper place to shop for those on a budget.

Finally Dermot said it would be cheaper and easier to get to than Tesco at Lee Mill.

The new location planned for the store is in the Parish of Ugborough and the ward of Ivybridge East on Rutt Lane and is the second application after the first proposed on land behind the Town Hall was refused in 2022.

A well-attended public meeting was held in May.

The Committee is chaired by Cllr Sara Hladji and she along with members Cllr Alan Spencer, Cllr Philip Dredge and Cllr Karen Pringle voted in favour. Cllr Lance Austen voted against.

Meanwhile Ugborough suppported the application with a number of conditions at their meeting on August 14.

These included Aldi proving a shopping bus service connecting a number of villages.

There is currently a public consultation that ends on September 12.

You can view the full application on the South Hams District Council planning portal under the planning reference: 2363/24/FUL

South Hams District Council will make the final decision.