LUDLOW traders have been left reeling after a controversial decision to build a supermarket on the edge of town was approved.

A delegation from the town travelled to Shrewsbury to hear Shropshire’s southern area planning committee give the green light to the scheme at Rocks Green.

Opponents of the project, who include Ludlow Chamber of Commerce and the ‘Love Ludlow’ campaign, fear that the new supermarket will result in job losses and business closures.

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne has expressed his opposition and Andy Boddington, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North, is also worried.

"This was one of the most difficult decisions the planning committee has taken,” he said.

“I fear that the impact on the town centre will be much larger than the developer is suggesting.”

But supporters of the scheme say that it will increase choice and provide much-needed new jobs.

The developer says that the impact on Ludlow town centre will not be great.

However, Tish Dockerty, secretary of Ludlow Chamber of Commerce and a leading member of the ‘Love Ludlow’ campaign, has said that with many businesses struggling to make ends meet even a small loss of trade could result in closures.

For campaigners against the scheme, the approval by five votes to four comes as a bitter pill and feels like defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Just before Christmas planners were on the verge of rejecting the proposal but were advised to put off a final decision by planners.

This resulted in the revised application which has been approved in line with the recommendation from planning officers.

It is not known which supermarket will come to the site but Tesco and Aldi who already have stores in Ludlow town centre have been ruled out.

Planners have been told that Lidl are among those that are interested.