BUSINESSMAN David Gliddon is set to face a renewed campaign of action against his plans for a new supermarket and retail development in Williton. Keep Williton Special - a group of traders and local residents opposed to the controversial scheme - launched itself this week promising a petition, poster and leaflet campaign. And the group said Mr Gliddon would find opposition to the development even more solid than that shown against a similar application which was thrown out by West Somerset Council last year. A revised scheme for a store just under half the size of Minehead's Morrisons, smaller shops and office units, residential accommodation, a mini roundabout and a pedestrian link to the village centre was unveiled at a public exhibition in April. The proposal on a 1.5 hectare site off Bank Street is largely unchanged from the original, although the supermarket now has a fixed location in the north east area of the site to minimise the distance between the entrance and Fore Street, and its size could be reduced from 2,300 to 2,100 square metres. Four new shops are also proposed, in addition to the previous retail and office units, along with a new public square. Parking for 175 cars remains unchanged, although two hours' free parking is promised for all. The revised plans, which would see the demolition of part of Mr Gliddon's existing shop, would also include five houses. But Keep Williton Special spokesman Wendy Spencer said the group was already examining what appeared to be discrepancies between the plans that had been on show at the exhibition and the detail in the actual application. These focus on the number of residential units and two large retail units and one smaller one shown at the exhibition but apparently not included in the plan. "Be that as it may, it is clear to anyone that opposition to this development is as strong as it was before," said Mrs Spencer. "The only thing people can't quite grasp is what part of 'No' Mr Gliddon can't understand." The previous application failed to win approval because of concerns over the impact on Williton's existing shops and also because the land already had planning permission for a significant number of new homes. Mrs Spencer said Keep Williton Special was not against any kind of development in the village. "We should be glad to see some more retail and industrial units and some badly needed housing for young families, all of which would add to the vibrancy of the place. "But what we are firmly opposed to is a development like this which is on such an enormous scale and out of all proportion to the community it is intended to serve." The group's campaign is aimed at highlighting the damage it believes the new supermarket could inflict on a community where so many businesses already operate on a knife edge and to warn of the "catastrophic traffic problems" resulting from the construction of a new roundabout at the access to the site in Bank Street. Mrs Spencer said the group would be contacting everyone who had written and objected to the previous application because it would be wrong to think the objections were still valid. "This is an entirely separate application so fresh objections will need to be lodged,' she said. "And every member of a household is entitled to have their say." Mr Gliddon told the Free Press that the new application was only for outline approval and details, such as the number of residential units, could be subject to change. "Our focus is not on providing residential accommodation but on providing a great deal of employment that is badly needed," he said. "Almost 400 people travel out of the Williton and Watchet area every day to work. "We are looking at providing services to the local community and making Williton a centre where there is more choice for shoppers." Mr Gliddon said he was delighted that he already had a greengrocer on board who wanted to open up a substantially sized shop almost at the entrance to the new supermarket. "We have also had expressions of interest from a range of other retailers and we are absolutely confident that we can bring much more choice to local shoppers." Mr Gliddon has predicted the development will generate around 150 jobs, helping to put money in local people's pockets. "We have got to provide jobs to prevent Williton becoming just a dormitory village and retirement home for people from the Midlands and South East," he said. The revised application can be viewed on the district council's website.