AN overwhelming majority of people have given the thumbs down to the prospect of Sainsbury's opening a store in Wadebridge.

At a packed public meeting in the town hall on Friday night more than 200 people turned up to show their opposition to creating a superstore on the site of the former North Cornwall District Council headquarters at Higher Trenant.

The public meeting was organised by campaign group lovewadebridge.com which last week handed a 3,000 signature petition against the plans to leader of Cornwall Council, Alec Robertson.

Speakers at the meeting included Cornwall Council's assistant head of planning and regeneration for East Cornwall Nigel Doyle, Cornwall councillors Jeremy Rowe and Scott Mann, Tavistock Chamber of Commerce chairman Nigel Eadie, Wadebridge mayor Elliot Osborne, Wadebridge chamber of commerce chairman Grenville Stanbury, independent trader Harriet Henderson and Charmian Larke from Atlantic Energy.

The meeting was chaired by North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson.

Mr Doyle conformed that two supermarkets, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, were at the pre-planning application stage but that neither had submitted formal applications. He confirmed that the council had not sold the Higher Trenant offices.

Mr Eadie told the audience how Tavistock chamber of commerce had stopped a Sainsbury's supermarket. He said: "I can detect the amount of passion in the audience. It shows that the people of Wadebridge have a strong community, something you have in common with Tavistock.

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"More than two years ago Sainsbury's wanted to open a store two miles outside the town centre but we knew that is was our independent shops that were the social glue that binds our community together and fought. We are now a stronger town without the impact of a Sainsbury's."

When Wadebridge mayor Elliot Osborne said he was unable to give a view as he wanted to remain objective until the supermarket was at a planning stage he was booed and hissed by some of the crowd. He said: "I cannot oppose or support at this time. However it was not that long ago that people thought that the bypass would be the nail in the coffin and make Wadebridge a ghost town and it was actually the best thing that happened to the town. "

Peter Wyper from St Austell said: "St Austell is a prime example of what can happen when large supermarkets open. Asda and Tesco killed off our town centre and now we have built a £74 million new shopping centre. Don't follow St Austell."

Judie Grey from St Kew Highway said: "It is also the communities around Wadebridge that will suffer. We have a thriving service station, pasty shop, hairdressers, and doctors and if a supermarket opens we will lose it all and our community will die."

At a show of hands nobody was in favour of a supermarket, three were undecided and 139 were against.