A CALL has been made for a special levy to be charged on new supermarkets.

It comes from Janet Helen Phillips who was recently adopted by The Green Party as its candidate in Ludlow for the general election next year.

The call will add to the controversy surrounding a proposal to build a new supermarket and petrol station on the outskirts of Ludlow in Rocks Green at the junction of the A49 and A4117.

This is being opposed by the Ludlow Chamber of Trade and the town’s MP Philip Dunne.

“Supermarkets create low paid, part-time jobs and they destroy jobs in existing small businesses,” said Janet Helen Phillips.

“Research shows that for every £1 spent in a local independent store 63p stays in the local economy, as opposed to just 40p spent in a supermarket. An average of 276 jobs is lost in the local economy whenever a new supermarket opens in the UK.

“Great damage is also done to local tourism. A very sound, practical idea for redressing the balance to the benefit of local communities is the supermarket levy.”

She wants Shropshire Council to write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government requesting that local authorities be given the power to introduce a levy of up to 8.5% of the rateable value on supermarkets or large retail outlets in their area with a rateable annual value not less that £500,000.

The idea is for the revenue to be retained by local authorities to be used to help improve local communities.

The developers promoting the supermarket scheme in Rocks Green say it will create new jobs and enable people to shop in the area without having to travel to surrounding towns like Hereford, Shrewsbury or Kidderminster to shop in a larger supermarket.