PLANS for an Aldi supermarket in Pontypool are set to be rejected for a second time over concerns it will hit traders in the town centre and threaten the future of a nearby business.

Torfaen council planning officers have recommended a revised application for a store near the Skewfields roundabout is refused when councillors decide on the application next week.

The supermarket chain had plans for the site thrown out last December but a new application submitted in the summer has attempted to rebuff concerns.

In its application, Aldi says there is a need for a new supermarket in Pontypool and that the development will create up to 40 jobs.

The development would come with a customer car park for 112 vehicles and the store would offer convenience goods such as food and also more expensive items such as furniture and televisions.

Pontypool Community Council has given its backing to the plans, while 40 letters of support and seven of objection have been lodged.

Objectors say the plans will be 'damaging' to Pontypool town centre and would hit independent traders in Griffithstown and New Inn.

Others have raised concerns over the suitability of the site for a mixed industrial and retail use, while road safety concerns have also been voiced.

One business warns that the development would mean leaving the site becomes a "very realistic option" and that it would likely move outside of Torfaen.

And a council report says packaging maker Diamondpak has said the development "risks the long term retention of their existing business" and 150 associated jobs in the longer term.

But supporters say the store would bring more choice to shoppers and mean they do not have to travel elsewhere to visit the supermarket.

They also welcome the creation of new jobs for the area.

A council report says Pontypool town centre is in a "reasonably fragile state of health" and that any impact of the proposed store on Tesco, Farmfoods and Iceland could hit the wider town.

The proposed site is also said to have "poor accessibility" in terms of public transport, walking and cycling, making linked trips to the town centre less likely, according to the report.

It is said that the application contains "no detailed information" about why the site is unsuitable for employment use, which goes against the aims of the Local Development Plan.

The report says the planned store could affect future employment opportunities on a site "well located for business, industrial and warehousing use."

Positives of the development are noted in the report, including the creation of jobs, improving access to a neighbouring community facility and contributions to community transport.

But these are not said to outweigh the concerns, including that it could create an impact that would "undermine the vitality, viability and attractiveness of Pontypool town centre."

The application will be decided by Torfaen council's planning committee at a meeting on Tuesday.