AN action group has been formed to fight plans for a new supermarket in Salisbury that protestors feel will add to traffic and flooding issues in the area.

The Salisbury Gateway project would see a new Sainsbury’s store and petrol station built on the edge of the city, opposite the existing out-of-town Tesco supermarket and next to a floodplain.

Concerned residents have set up the Salisbury Wetlands Action Group and are urging people to have their say before it’s too late.

Group spokesman Vincent Nolan said: “The planning application went in just before the Easter holiday, and the consultation period ends on May 8, which is just after another bank holiday, so people don’t have a lot of time.

“Strong local resistance is needed and we want to make sure people are aware of this closing date.”

The developers withdrew an initial planning application for the site in 2012 amid local concerns.

They say the new plan, which includes an eight-pump petrol station, parking and a wetlands area off Southampton Road, will not exacerbate flooding problems. And they claim alterations to the road layout, including adding a slip road and an extra exit at the Bourne Way roundabout, will improve the traffic flow.

The plan would also create 400 new jobs.

But residents remain unconvinced by the proposal, and opposition is also being rallied by Salisbury teenager Hamish Mundell, 16, who has started a petition to be found at http://www.change.org/petitions/sainsbury-s-stop-sainsbury-s-southampton-road-plans-for-salisbury.

And he will be collecting signatures outside the Guildhall this Saturday from 10am.

Gateway is holding drop-in sessions for residents on May 9 from 10am to 7.30pm and May 10 from 10am to 2.30pm at the Red Lion Hotel in Milford Street.

The application (14/03690/FUL) will go before Wiltshire Council’s southern area planning committee at a date to be confirmed.

The consultation is open until May 8 and people will also be able to make their views known by registering to speak at the committee meeting.

Salisbury Wetlands Action has set up a Facebook page at facebook.com/SayNoToSainsburys.