A prominent Dundee councillor has accused two major international retailers of “playing games” with Dundee.
German supermarket Aldi was given permission to open a store in the Myrekirk area of Dundee by the council on Monday evening.
Aldi had already been granted planning permission to build a new store last year by the city council development management committee.
But a court case over an alcohol licensing complaint led the firm to resubmit its planning application to speed up the process of building its new store.
Planning officers had recommended the application be refused this time around, on the basis of failing to meet a number of employment and retailing policies of the city’s development plan.
Rival supermarket Asda objected to Aldi’s application and said its Myrekirk store had not been reaching targets.
Labour councillor Richard McCready said Dundee City Council risks being dragged into a legal wrangle between the supermarket giants.
He said: “I have written to the cabinet secretary (Angela Constance MSP) to raise my concerns about this case. It is ludicrous, in my opinion, that we were asked to make a judgement on an identical planning application to one which had already been approved.
“I felt that both Aldi and Asda were playing games on Monday evening with their deputations.
“That may be fine for two commercial rivals to do what they think they must to preserve their profits but this impacts on the people of Dundee and has a potential to impact on the future of council services in Dundee.
“I do hope that the various planning applications and legal proceedings in this case are all genuine.
“It would be appalling if any of these parties were playing games to frustrate the sales potential of a rival.”
A spokesperson for Asda said it would be inappropriate for the firm to comment at this stage.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We welcome the decision to approve our new store.
“We intend to correspond with all members of the committee to keep them updated.”
Former citizen of the year Stella Carrington, who lobbied in favour of the store opening, said she feels the it will, among other things, help tackle illnesses such as rickets.
She said: “The discount food will be a big help for the so-called working poor and people on zero hour contracts. Bus fares to other discount food stores can be very expensive, so having one here right on our doorstep is absolutely ideal.
“It’s been on the news that rickets is on the up, so with half price meat and fruit and vegetables, it’s a great thing for Charleston.”
