A WAR of words has broken out between Wiltshire Councillor Simon Killane and MP James Gray over the Government’s decision to put a hold on plans for a Waitrose store in Malmesbury.

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles yesterday instructed Wiltshire Council not to grant permission for the store on land behind the Avon Silk Mills, even though the Northern Area Planning Committee had decided in favour of the bid the night before.

Mr Gray, who had contacted him the previous week to ask him to call the application in and review it himself, accused Cllr Killane of trying to rush the application through and playing politics.

“Possibly the death of Malmesbury will be on Simon Killane’s shoulders,” he said in a radio interview.

He questioned statistics showing support for the Waitrose site and said very large numbers of people in Malmesbury wanted the new supermarket to be in the high street.

In response Cllr Killane accused the MP of a cheap trick. He said Mr Gray’s own statistics were completely unsubstantiated and challenged him to take part in a public debate.

“How on earth could we fit a supermarket, parking and delivery vehicles into the centre of the town,” he asked. “What about your concerns about heritage. And the surrounding listed buildings?”

Later in the day Mr Gray issued a letter stating: “The whole issue of the Malmesbury supermarket seems to be reaching political fever pitch - which is exactly what you don't want when making difficult decisions which could affect the whole future of the town.

“That is why I have asked the Secretary of State to call it in - for a period of quiet reflection as to what is best for the town. It may, of course, be that he will decline to do so, but he should at least be given that opportunity.”

The letter said the draft neighbourhood plan should be allowed to go to referendum, but if planning applications that fundamentally changed the nature of the town were railroaded through in the meanwhile, then the town might as well not bother with neighbourhood planning in the first place.

“The whole question of supermarkets is central to the neighbourhood plan, so how can its supporters now be emasculating their own plan by supporting this potentially very damaging planning application,” he asked.

“There is a great deal of nonsense currently being talked about how the vast majority of the people of Malmesbury want the Waitrose site, and a variety of pretty spurious opinion polls being cited to prove it. My own experience is that if offered three options: Sainsbury's, Waitrose, or a suitable High Street alternative, the overwhelming majority of people would prefer the third option. “ He added: “It is my strongly held view that an out of town supermarket would wreck the very character of Malmesbury. Almost as important as that, it wrecks the whole neighbourhood planning process, about which we are so enthusiastic.”