SHOPS in Ludlow are not always meeting the needs of people with limited incomes.

This was the message from Colin Sheward, deputy mayor of Ludlow, speaking at a public meeting about new plans for a supermarket at Rocks Green.

“There are people on low and not-so-low incomes who do not have their needs met in Ludlow,” said Colin Sheward.

“It is a real problem especially for children’s clothing.”

He was speaking at a packed meeting at the Women’s Centre in Ludlow.

It was called to gather opinions for about revised plans for a new supermarket at Rocks Green. The deadline for the consultation on the new plans closed on Tuesday (January 10).

“There is clearly a division of opinion and I know some people who have told me that they would like to see a supermarket but did not want to speak,” said Vivienne Parry, who represents Ludlow south on Shropshire Council and who called the meeting.

One woman who spoke but did not give her name talked about the problems of coping on a small pension and said that she wanted to see a supermarket but smaller than the one that is envisaged.

David Appleton from the ‘Love Ludlow’ campaign said that it was a myth to believe that the revised plan was for a much smaller supermarket than was originally planned.

“The idea that this is smaller is nonsense,” he said.

Andy Boddington, who represents Ludlow North on Shropshire Council and is a member of the planning committee, said the figures with the new plans did not add up.

“The committee had been minded to reject the original application but had delayed on the advice of officers and now we have these new plans,” he said.

But he added that is some support for a new supermarket.

“There is an issue with clothing and only a small proportion of people buy their clothing in Ludlow," he said. "We could do with a new supermarket to address this but it depends upon the supermarket.”

He said that there is a problem because the planning application is a speculative one from a developer.

“The truth is that we do not know what supermarket it would be and we do not know what we would get,” he added

Andy Boddington said he does not expect any progress on plans for a petrol station and convenience store near Ludlow School until the Rocks Green issue had been determined.

Tish Dockerty, secretary of Ludlow Chamber of Trade and a member of the ‘Love Ludlow’ campaign, is worried about the proposed size of the new store.

In her view, the developer has cynically made minor changes to repackage ‘plans for a huge supermarket.’

“It would still be the size of Aldi and Budgens combined,” said Tish Dockerty.

She has described the plans for a new supermarket as a ‘town killer’ and says that there is no guarantee that a need for children’s clothing would be met.

It is anticipated that the revised plans will be discussed by planners at a meeting in February or March.