Melksham has seen significant growth in recent years, and is planned to expand further, dramatically.  The current Sainsbury's has been very busy to the extent that it's detracted from the experience of shopping there, and that is in spite of the fact that many locals have driven along the A350 corridor to the Tesco in Trowbridge or to the Sainsbury's in Chippenham for their major grocery supplies.

So the supermarket expansion you're seeing - Lidl opened a couple of months back, Asda approved and now Sainsbury's application - is a natural one; yes, the current economic times may be slowing down the expansion but I still see a plot just up the road from where I live being converted from low density (one house) to high density, a new school going in just up the road on green fields, further green fields with outline permission for 750 homes now looking for detailed permission for the first tenth, and new outlines being sought for the old school site.