A potential loss of car parking spaces caused by a supermarket’s bid to expand brought out the crowds to a Warminster town council meeting on Monday.

A planning application put forward by retail giant Morrisons, which has a store in Weymouth Street, was debated again, two months after it was deferred by West Wiltshire District Council’s planning committee in order for a public consultation to be held.

Morrisons wants to increase the amount of floorspace by a third to accomodate a larger customer cafe, more sales space and a larger warehouse.

Cllr Keith Humphries was one of many to express concerns over the loss of council-owned parking spaces outside the Assembly Rooms if Morrisons plans are approved.

He said: “The problem with losing car parking spaces is that when we lose them, we lose them forever. I think the number of car parking spaces that will go is too great to bear.”

Last week the town mayor Cllr Veronica Burden, planning advisory committee chairman Cllr Martin Baker and town clerk Heather Abernethie met with officials from Morrisons to discuss their concerns.

Morrisons outlined its position and said the proposed extension will include buying parking spaces from Westrop Holdings, 27 parking spaces from the district council and a further nine to improve pedestrian access to the rear of the former Woolworths building.

Cllr Tony Nicklin highlighted a list of areas where the town had lost parking in recent months, including 20 spaces in the High Street, 24 in the central car park and 20 in Weymouth Street car park for social housing.

He said: “Morrisons are now proposing we lose another 27 (of WWDC-owned parking), which means we will have lost 91 parking spaces in a very short space of time. I don’t understand why they don’t just expand on their own land.

“I think this application is fraught with difficulties and I shall not be supporting it.”

The town council also heard how the supermarket had pledged £10,000 in a Section 106 agreement with the district council, which will go towards improving public bus timetables and a further £80,000 towards cycleway improvements - although not necessarily for Warminster.

Town councillors objected unanimously to the plans.

The application is due to go back before the district council’s planning committee on Thursday, where planning officers had recommended the application be approved in a report.