COUNCILLORS are expected to decide at the end of next month on whether to allow further supermarket expansion in Rawtenstall.

A report on shopping habits in Rossendale has now been published and councillors are waiting for the results of a county council survey of traffic round the town centre to complete the picture.

The shopping report, prepared following questioning of local people by Cleveland-based North East Market Surveys, warns councillors that further supermarket development could hit smaller shops.

The report appears to dash hopes by local builders Hurstwood Development to build a second supermarket at Newhallhey and plans by Peel Holdings to extend the Asda site.

But Coun Alan Fishwick, chairman of Rossendale Council's engineering and planning committee, said in his view the report did not automatically rule out plans for a second superstore in Rawtenstall and said councillors would keep their minds open and debate all the issues.

The report highlighted Asda's dominance of good shopping in the Valley. It confirmed that the 20-year-old store is the first choice for 65 per cent of Rossendale people and 80 per cent of Rawtenstall shoppers.

Coun Fishwick said: "One of the comments in the report is that any new food outlet would not affect Asda but would affect smaller shops and that is worrying because it could mean a further decline in other food outlets."

But Coun Fishwick added that he was not totally convinced by this argument which, he said, was not borne out by the figures in the report.

He added that Asda's dominance of food shopping in the Valley was a concern.

Coun Fishwick said he hoped to have four separate plans for shopping development in Rawtenstall, including the council's own scheme for the area between the Valley Centre and the bus station, all on the table at the end of January.

All the applicants and other interested parties have been asked to comment by December 10.

Coun Fishwick said the shopping report was comprehensive and added: "What it's done for me is confirm what I already believed, and it's having that confirmation that is important.

"In a sense Asda's dominance of the food market is pretty obvious. After that, everything is up for debate."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.