COUNCILLORS are to visit the site of a controversial application to change the use of a pub into a supermarket.

More than 2,000 Caerleon residents signed a petition voicing their concerns about the initial planning application for the Sainsbury's local store back in September of last year.

The residents have concerns over parking, pollution and the potential impact it will have on independent shops in the village.

They have also been left upset having received leaflets from Sainsbury's asking them what they would like to see in their new store, despite the planning process not yet being finished.

But Newport Council officers urged the council's planning committee to grant permission for the store, which would be built on the site where the Angel pub and its surrounding outbuildings currently stands.

Objecter Yin Loo, who has run the Spar shop in Caerleon for more than 20 years, addressed a meeting of the city council's planning committee on Wednesday.

After the meeting, she told the Argus: "Sainsbury's is just duplicating what we already have here just on a much bigger scale. I don't think we need it and I'm worried for local businesses. Anybody wanting to access the shops in Caerleon has to go down Mill Street and the junction at the roundabout there is going to be just 15 yards away from where Sainsbury's want the entrance to their car park. It will make the traffic at school pick-up times, which is already a nightmare, even worse."

During the meeting Caerleon councillor, Gail Giles, said: "There have been many objections to this and it is clearly not what the people of Caerleon want. I have serious traffic concerns and I cannot see how having Sainsbury's in Caerleon is going to help businesses there."

The store will have 10 car parking spaces, with three of those being taken up when deliveries are made. It is estimated the shop would create between 20-25 jobs.

Councillor Paul Hannon, the deputy chairman of the planning committee, said: "In retail developments people talk about the need for a 'honey pot' store which attracts more shoppers to that area, why can't this shop do this for Caerleon? "

A spokesman for the developers, Hillvale Properties, who attended the meeting, said: "This store will create more jobs for local people and provides residents with a wider range and choice of shops."

The site visit will take place next Thursday. A decision on the plan will be made afterwards.