PLANS for a massive Tesco store in Barnstaple have been approved at a heated planning meeting.

The controversial planning application to site the store at Seven Brethren Bank was considered by the planning committee at North Devon Council.

Councillors voted 14 - 10 to allow the development.

Nine Liberal Democrat councillors and one independent councillor voted against the plan.

The 14 votes for the plan were all from the council's ruling Conservative group.

A packed public gallery watched a lively two hour debate at the council chamber.

Cllr Faye Webber said: "I am not personally against the application. But can we take the chance of seeing what we have built up in Barnstaple reversed by this application? It is the straw that breaks the camels back."

Cllr Webber left before the end of the meeting and did not vote.

Cllr Chris Haywood, who voted against the application, said: "Barnstaple is a unique market town and tourists come here each year to take in its unique heritage. By approving this application, we will make it look like any other town."

Cllr Malcolm Prowse also voted against the application. He said the amount of non-food floor space which would be allowed in the Tesco store was roughly the same size as the pannier market.

Cllr Colin Payne, who voted against the application, said he could not approve the application because the council had not acted in the spirit of new government planning guidance PPS4 — which was to look at how it would affect the town centre.

He said: "We have not yet followed the guidance as we were supposed to which is really worrying me. We always seem to be subject to some sort of financial or legal blackmail as to how we deal with these applications."

But Cllr Richard Jones, who proposed approval of the application, said there were no planning grounds on which to refuse the application.

He said the crux of the argument was not about how many supermarkets exist already in the area.

"This application must be judged solely on its merits, which cannot be argued."

Cllr Paul Crabb, who voted to approve the application, said some councillors were verging on breaking the law with their comments.

He said: "It is not within the law to say you would turn it down just because it is Tesco. Yes the decision will not be popular, but we are here almost as a jury in a court of law and must vote in the proper way."

Keith Bines, planning officer, also told the members he did not think the store would affect the towns trade as most independent shops filled a niche market.

Four members of the public spoke against the application, all receiving a round of applause after they spoke.

Cllr Jasmine Chesters, chairman of the planning committee, said it broke her heart to approve the application — but she had no other option.

The store will be on the site of the existing Brian Ford's store which Tesco secretly bought in 2003.

The proposals also feature a petrol station and car wash.

A condition of the planning agreement is to create a new road between Station Road and Seven Brethren Bank.

There will also be a car park with 497 spaces.

The application, which has a long history of controversy, was deferred from a meeting in December because of a change in Government policy.

New guidance requested all planning authorities to proactively plan to promote competitive town centre environments and provide consumer choice.

No consulting bodies objected to the Tesco application, although the Environment Agency highlighted concerns over flood-risk. A number of conditions to lessen flood risk were attached to the plan.

Barnstaple's Town Centre Management group also flagged up fears over the size of the store and its potential impact on the vitality and viability of the town.

North Devon MP Nick Harvey has warned a new Tesco store could have a devastating impact on the High Street.

There were seven letters of objection to the plan including an objection from Barnstaple and District Chamber of Commerce.