LONG-RUNNING plans for a supermarket-sized food store in Magor could get the green light next week.

The owners of Magor Motors are behind the proposal to demolish its existing buildings and replace them with a new village shop which the family would run.

The family-run business says it wants to widen shopping choices in the village, offering customers a store to carry out their weekly shop as well as basket and top-up shopping.

Currently the only convenience store located in Magor is a Co-op, with many people in the village doing their regular shop in Caldicot, Newport and Chepstow, a retail assessment submitted with the application says.

The store would come with 27 car parking spaces, primarily for customers but also for shoppers visiting the main square in the village.

Planning officers have recommended the plans are approved by councillors when they decide on the application next week.

First drawn up as far back as 2001, the plans were approved in 2012 but since then the application has remained undetermined.

Since being resubmitted, the plans have drawn a mixed reaction with letters of support and objection lodged.

Objectors say the store would be 'detrimental' to the existing shopping area and could hit existing businesses.

They say the proposal is "too large in scale, unnecessary and will be detrimental to the look and feel of Magor."

But supporters say the store would help meet the needs of an increased population in Undy.

The postmaster in the village has also backed the plans, providing there is adequate signage directing people to businesses in The Square.

A council report says the key planning issue is the effect of the proposals on the village centre.

The report says that for the application to be acceptable, it is essential the new store plays a "strong role" in attracting new shoppers to the wider village.

It is said the proposal could strengthen links to the village with information boards describing what is available, and also detailing the history of the area.

Additional parking also has the potential to increase footfall in the village centre, the report says.

At the same time, the report acknowledges that the plans could hit the Co-op.

"It is recognised that Co-op would be likely to lose some existing trade but the issue for consideration is impact on the centre as a whole and planning officers believe, on balance, that the vitality and viability of the central shopping area as a whole would not be harmed," it says.

The plans have been recommended for approval, subject to a section 106 agreement which would include provision for signs and information boards about facilities in Magor.