BRISTOL'S independent food shops are under siege because of the growing power of the "Big Four" supermarket chains, a public meeting has been told.

Even the city's wholesale fruit and veg market in St Philip's is struggling to survive because the supermarkets have their own supply chains which stretch across the world, last night's meeting heard.

About 70 people turned up to the meeting at the United Reformed Church in Whiteladies Road, which was organised by a community group called Sustainable Redland.

One of the organisers, Hamish Wills, said the aim of the meeting was to discuss what could be done to protect and help independent traders as corporate multinationals continue to expand.

Councillor Neil Harrison (Lib Dem, Cotham) spoke about planning laws and explained that if a premises is registered for retail use, then a supermarket cannot be prevented from taking over a former shop.

He said that was why the council was powerless to stop Sainsbury's from taking over the former Woolworths store in Whiteladies Road.

"As far as the planning system is concerned, a Sainsbury's store is exactly the same as a health food shop," he said.

The supermarket chain might need planning permission to change the signage on the frontage of the premises or other technical issues such as installing air-conditioning units but Sainsbury's had the permission they needed to take over the former Woolworths store, he added.

Freelance food consultant Joy Carey has published a survey called Who Feeds Bristol? Commissioned and funded by NHS Bristol, it explains the complex system of food supply.

She said that four supermarket chains – Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda – supply 75 per cent of our food.

She said a television documentary revealed the number of supermarkets in the greater Bristol area which were run by the Big Four had grown from 19 in 2004 to 76 by last year. This compares with 180 independent food shops in Bristol, owned by 140 businesses.

She said there was a greater density of supermarkets in the Bristol area than Sheffield, Leeds or Manchester.

In a summary of her report, she said: "Within Bristol, the distribution and wholesale facilities are clustered mainly in St Philip's and at Avonmouth/Royal Portbury.

"The area served by the wholesale fruit and vegetable centre in St Philip's stretches from Fishguard to Portsmouth and from Penzance to beyond Oxford.

"It serves virtually the entire independent greengrocery sector across the South West and South Wales and employs some 500 people locally.

"Were it to collapse, this would lose significant local jobs and have a domino effect for thousands of producers, caterers and independent retailers throughout the South West and further afield.

"The market is under intense pressure because of the mode of operation of the retail multiples which control their whole supply chains 'in-house' and engage in practices criticised by the Competition Commission for their damage to market diversity and distortion of competition."

The meeting broke up into discussion groups to talk about ways to support independent traders.