Supermarket saturation point: Is there really room for more in Sidmouth and in Honiton?

Locally, there has been considerable discussion about the merits or otherwise of having more supermarkets developed...

Is a Morrisons at Alexandria Road in Sidmouth going to happen?

Here is some of the debate from the Herald:
Morrisons please - Letters - Sidmouth Herald
Those that serve - Letters - Sidmouth Herald
Futures Forum: Nice posh Sidmouth has a Waitrose: but could it do with a more down-to-earth Morrison's? Perhaps not...

How viable is a supermarket at the District Council's own Heathfield site in Honiton?

This is from the District Council’s own consultants Roger Tym who warned in their Housing and Employment Study 2011 of the challenge of dealing with ‘large strategic allocations’, focussing on the proposals for Honiton:

“In terms of the deliverability of this scale of accommodation, we are aware that marketing of a 1.4 million sq ft scheme at Langage Business Park in Plymouth has progressed over the last 5 years without success of obtaining a single occupier. Plymouth is no doubt a larger market than Honiton, and the inability of acquiring a single occupier is a stark representation of the difficulties in dealing with large strategic allocations. We would therefore, suggest the proposed allocations are excessive for what is likely to be deliverable in this area, particularly when factoring in the larger allocations closer to the M5.”

http://www.eastdevon.gov.uk/combined_east_devon___employment_study_draft_final_report_251011.pdf   

In fact, the supermarket chains seem to be retrenching, with a price war leaving less for new development...

It is now clear that supermarkets are not offering the same attraction for investors as before:
Reality check for UK supermarkets - Telegraph
Supermarkets are past their sell-by date. They just don’t know it yet | Life and style | The Observer

There are some chains that seem under particular pressure:
Rochdale News | News Headlines | No point whining, supermarkets are changing - Rochdale Online
The Motley Fool UK » Why You Shouldn’t Let Wm. Morrison Supermarkets plc Look After Your Money
Bradford's Morrisons sees market share fall further (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Meanwhile, supermarkets seem to be losing their popularity:
How supermarkets are damaging the local community - The Lincolnite
Futures Forum: Can supermarkets ever be sustainable? ... 'Localising economies is a better way of making an economy more transparent and giving people more control.'

There are also questions about 'supermarket-led development':
https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/supermarket-led-development.pdf 

And so we return to the interconnectedness of the District Council's relocation project:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: connected to the draft Local Plan ... connected to employment ... local business ... retail parks vs the high street ... proposed Sidford employment land ... building on floodplains ... tourism ...
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