CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed news that plans for two new supermarkets in Newcastle Emlyn are being recommended for refusal this week.

But they warn that a new application for the Cawdor Cars site, part of which is owned by the county council, could still be made.

More than 500 letters of objection against the Cawdor scheme were sent in to Carmarthenshire County Council, while the Lidl plan for Castle Motors received four objections.

The county planning committee will consider the applications on Thursday.

"Despite the likely refusal of planning permission for the Cawdor proposal, local residents and traders fear the plans will be re-submitted in the near future and that the refusal will give the town only a brief respite," said a joint statement from the town’s Chamber of Commerce and the Newcastle Emlyn Action Group.

Barry Rogers, proprietor of GS News and chairman of the Chamber, said: "The disappointing thing is that the council has reached the right conclusion, but not necessarily for all the right reasons. Traffic and the impact on the local economy, the two issues which local people are most worried about, are not considered to present a problem, according to the planners."

Protesters say the new supermarket would only be viable if it took "a huge slice" of business from existing retailers.

Richard Vale, of the Newcastle Emlyn Action Group, said: "We believe that the council is leaving the door open to a new application. Apart from the devastating impact a supermarket would have on the town’s economy, the planning report completely ignores the problem of road congestion. Sycamore Street and College Street regularly become gridlocked, and much of the traffic for the supermarket, including HGVs, will come through the main part of town. Traffic along the A484 past the Cawdor site is already very heavy at peak times, and it is hard to see how adding yet another busy junction can improve matters."

He called on Cawdor Cars owner Kevin Davies to come up with a viable alternative scheme.

"We believe there is scope for an imaginative redevelopment of the Cawdor site. Let’s not forget that the Council itself owns an important part of the site, and we would like to see Mr Davies and the council working together to come up with alternatives, such as a mix of small shops and housing and a community centre which could be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as a youth club, community events, and even a farmers market. That would have much wider support in town."