The boss of a rapidly growing business in Harnham spoke this week of his desperate struggle to stay in the city where he started out ten years ago.

Carl Chambers, owner of surplus store In-Excess, says it is virtually impossible for entrepreneurs like him to find suitable premises in which to expand "unless you are a big-name public limited company".

Mr Chambers was addressing a meeting of Salisbury district councillors who voted to back his bid to convert office space at his warehouse in Netherhampton Road into a shop - against planning officers' advice.

Councillors heard that Mr Chambers' existing shop further along Netherhampton Road, which employs 25 local people, is so popular it regularly causes traffic congestion, to the annoyance of residents.

He said that if he did not get planning permission, he would have no alternative but to renew his lease on the existing shop for a further ten years because he would have nowhere else to go.

"I feel for the residents, but I have tried for five years to find other sites," he said. The matter will now go before planning committee members for a decision.