REMAINS of a Saxon settlement could hold up the construction of a budget supermarket on land at Kingsteignton.

German supermarket chain Lidl, submitted pans to Teignbridge Council to build a 1,000 square metre supermarket on the old Wilcocks agricultural site at Newton Road.

Officers have recommended outline planning permission for the store, which could provide up to 30 jobs, be turned down.

Planners say the store would have a 'detrimental impact on the street scene' and to number 2 St Michael's Road, which Lidl owns and plans to sell on completion of the development.

And according to Devon County Archaeology, the proposed development site could mask Saxon settlement remains.

A spokesman for Devon County Archaeology said: "The proposed development lies just outside and to the south west of the putative Saxon core of Kingsteignton. It also occupies the site of Oakland Farm, an undated farmstead shown on the late 19th and early 20th century ordinance survey maps of the area.

"While the site is at present occupied by industrial warehouses and a concrete slab, below ground archeological evidence associated with the former farmstead may survive, as well as evidence of the early settlement here."

Lidl, which is investing more than £3million in the store, will have to pay thousands of pounds for an archeological survey if it is granted planning permission against the officer's recommendation.

Oliver McGuinness, a spokesman for Lidl, said it was a 'standard condition put on any planning permission'.

He said archeological surveys had already been carried out by Lidl and former land-owners Wilcocks, but nothing had been revealed.

Mr McGuinness explained: "Where there is something of potential archeological interest, in order to protect what could potentially be there, Devon County issues these conditions.

"After we have demolished the building we will have to dig a few trial trenches. If there is nothing there or what is there is of limited and of no great value that will be the end of it. If anything was under the car park it would remain in situ, if anything is found underneath the building then we would have to build around the findings."

Since Teignbridge planners made their recommendation, Lidl has altered its plans to try to 'soften the impact on the street scene'.

Mr McGuinness said a larger landscaped strip had been added to the lower end of the site and to the property on St Michael's Road.

The company hopes to start demolition works on the existing buildings before Christmas and to have a 'neighbourhood store' — stocking discount food, toys and domestic goods — up and running by 2009.

There will be a warehouse on the site and access to the new store will be from Newton Road.

The application will go before Teignbridge Council's Development Control Committee tonight.