Sainsbury’s has lodged revised plans for a £40 million supermarket to be built on the former site of Perth’s agricultural mart, in a move that it claims could bring 500 jobs to the town.
The retailer has submitted up-to-date proposals for the Crieff Road location with Perth and Kinross Council which address matters previously raised by the local authority, including a transport assessment and landscaping.
Some of the neighbouring residents have expressed concerns about an increase in traffic congestion, with traffic already often gridlocked at the roundabout at the beginning of the A85 near the Tesco supermarket. However, Sainsbury’s feels that the latest plans will allay these fears. The company plans to alleviate traffic problems by upgrading the access off the A85 Crieff Road.
The store proposals for Perth comprise 65,000 square feet of retail space with 777 car parking spaces and a fuel station. The company estimates that the planned store will bring in the region of 500 full and part-time jobs to the town.
Sainsbury’s has previously stated that it has identified a “clear market demand” for it to build its first store in Perth. The supermarket giant carried out a study on the impact of its development in Crieff Road and claimed that it would have a minimal effect on the town centre.
The report stated, “The health check has revealed that Perth city centre is in a strong position. The number of vacant units within Perth is 7% and is comfortably lower than the UK average (10.35%).”
The national development surveyor for Sainsbury’s Paul Miller explained the changes to the plans. “The revisions to the Crieff Road plans have sought to take on board comments made to Sainsbury’s from Perth and Kinross Council over the last few months. As such, we have now completed an updated transport assessment and have introduced some landscaping around the north and north-west edge of the site.
“Sainsbury’s believe that by delivering a store to the heart of Perthshire we can deliver Sainsbury’s quality and choice products to both residents of the city and the wider region.
“Sainsbury’s look forward to re-engaging with the community of Perth in due course to ensure we have fully taken into consideration what the people of Perth want from their Sainsbury’s store.”
A spokesman for the council said that Sainsbury’s was “fine tuning” the details of its planning application. “We recently received a revised transport assessment and revised plans from the applicant, which will require further public advertisement.”
Following the original plan being submitted to the local authority, Sainsbury’s claimed it had more than 86% of public backing for the store in Perth. The company canvassed public opinion in 2009 and said that 86.5% of respondents to its survey were in favour of the proposed development.
It also noted that a Sainsbury’s supermarket would attract shoppers to Perth and help the local economy by retaining trade within the town. Around 77.6% of the respondents said there was insufficient choice of supermarkets in Perth.
Sainsbury’s has also said it is keen to source food locally, with a previous involvement with Perth and Kinross Council’s Rural Forum.
At the moment Sainsbury’s has one store in Kinross and the company’s desire to expand received a huge boost in May when the Scottish Government rubber-stamped its plan for a store in Bridge Road, Pitlochry. Perth and Kinross Council unanimously backed the development in December but the decision had to be ratified. The Pitlochry store will create more than 150 full and part-time jobs.
The Perth agricultural mart, home of the world-famous bull sales, closed for the last time in July 2009 and has been earmarked as the location for a Sainsbury’s store.