Fresh doubts were today raised over whether Oswestry needs a new multi-million pound supermarket following the publication of a new report by a leading countryside campaign group.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England report claims the recession, recent retail development in the town and new supermarkets in neighbouring towns means there is probably no longer a demand for a store.

Bosses at the now defunct Oswestry Borough Council agreed there was a need for a new store following a retail survey in 2007 by planning consultants Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners.

There are currently four rival proposals for a new Oswestry supermarket with each applicant due to address a crunch Shropshire Council meeting next month to outline the merits of their schemes to councillors.

A final decision is set to be made later this year on which application will get the go-ahead.

But the new report by members of the CPRE’s Oswestry branch has cast doubts on whether there is still a need for a new store, a public meeting heard last night.

The meeting was organised by Oswestry21, a group set up to promote sustainable development in the town and the report’s findings were presented by Charles Green from the CPRE.

The report said because of the dramatic economic downturn and recent developments in Oswestry, the 2007 retail survey was now out of date.

It said: “The market dynamics of Oswestry’s catchment area have already changed significantly since NLP’s Oswestry Borough Council retail study of March 2007, thereby reducing the need for more retail floorspace. This is demonstrated by NLP’s partial update of February 2009 which also indicates their original estimates were too high.

“The current recession has reduced retail spending.”

The report said the future effects of the three Tesco stores recently opened or being planned in Ellesmere, Welshpool or Cefn Mawr had not been taken into account.

The report concluded there was no proven need for stores of the size proposed.

By Iain St John