Asda has been given permission to build a supermarket in Stirling.
The council’s planning and regulation panel has approved an application from Ramoyle Ltd to develop land at Crookbridge, on the A905 Kerse Road, south of Springkerse Retail Park.
As well as an Asda, the 13-acre site has received consent for a car showroom, offices and a vehicle refuelling hub.
It is set to be the chain’s first supermarket in the city, with its only current presence being express stores in Kildean and Cruive Dykes.
Asda scheme previously turned down by Scottish ministers
The site, owned by the Stirling Development Agency, was previously approved by councillors for a similarly-scaled development from the same applicant, including an Asda supermarket, in January 2022.
However, it was ‘called in’ by the reporter to the Scottish ministers, who recommended refusal of the planning application as he could not “safely conclude” that the development would not have a significant or unacceptable impact on the city centre.
Scottish ministers subsequently accepted those reasons and refused the application.
Stirling ‘doesn’t provide easy access’ to retail giants
However, in its new application, the developer submitted an updated retail impact assessment (RIA), which was independently assessed on behalf of council planners.
The RIA indicated that Stirling currently doesn’t provide easy access to all four of the major supermarket chains.
It also suggested that supermarkets in the Stirling area are currently overtrading by around £10 million, but this would grow to £25 million by 2030 as the population increases, and that a new supermarket would improve competition and choice.
The RIA also found that the impact on Stirling city centre would not be significant, with conditions to limit the amount of retail floor space, and the use to be predominantly for the sale of food and convenience goods.
Scheme would provide 350 jobs
The development would provide around 350 new jobs and, councillors felt, it would also reduce the risk of local residents leaving the area to shop in other retail park locations across the Forth Valley and beyond.
Five representations were received as part of the application process – four were objections, with one neutral.
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