‘I fear doughnut effect’ - says councillor

MORRISONS hasn’t ruled out claims it could be on the lookout for a site for a supermarket in Sidmouth.

Rumours the firm was possibly looking to set up shop in the town were mentioned at a full town council meeting on Monday.

Chairman Stuart Hughes told colleagues he’d heard talk the supermarket chain was potentially interested in an employment land plot and said: “No way”.

Cllr Hughes added that such sites should be provided to give future generations the chance to work, and live, in Sidmouth.

Mr Hughes told the Herald on Wednesday: “The last thing we want is another supermarket. I fear a ‘doughnut effect’- where all the trade will be sucked out of the centre of Sidmouth.”

A Morrisons spokesperson said yesterday: “We’re constantly looking at sites across the country that we would like to bring our offering to, but we don’t comment on individual sites until they have been acquired.”

He added it can take up to five years from the time of site acquisition to the opening of a store.