The largest private employer in Perth city centre has made a plea for protection from out-of-town development.
John Bullough, chairman and managing director of department store McEwens of Perth, believes developers have the city under attack and he has called on Perth and Kinross Council to resist plans that would create huge retail developments on the city’s western edge.
He is also urging developers and businesses to consider alternatives to out-of-town sites, such as vacant retail space.
There are two major plans in the pipeline for the western edge of Perth, with Sainsbury’s looking to build on the former Perth Mart site off Crieff Road. And a group of investors unattached to any named supermarket are applying to build on a greenfield site adjacent to McDiarmid Park.
Mr Bullough told The Courier: ”Britain’s city centres are now under siege from large supermarkets that are allowed to trade on our cities’ periphery, selling every product category with cheaper rent, cheaper rates and free car parking. It is not a fair fight.
”The odds are loaded in their favour and that is why we have lost many of our fabulous local butchers, bakers, grocers, pharmacists and electrical shops.
”These corporate giants use the lie that they are creating hundreds of new jobs but there is significant proven research that shows not only that most of these jobs quoted are temporary (for the construction), but more significantly, for every permanent job created out of town, an average of two jobs are lost in the city centre.
”These companies destroying the heart of our towns and cities must be held to account.”
Mr Bullough said that in Perth and Kinross Council the business community had a local authority that appreciated the challenges being faced by retailers. He said it would prove difficult for planners to resist the lobbying of developers but urged the council to stay strong and protect its businesses.
”We are lucky in Perth that our planners comprehend the realities of the ‘Doughnut Effect’ better than most,” he said. ”Down south there are town centres that are almost completely deserted, reminiscent of a ghost town in a spaghetti western.
”The meteoric expansion of supermarkets in Britain has come at a great cost to our local communities. The community is weakened when it is dominated by faceless multi-national chains and yet, it would seem, as a community we have little say in the matter.
”If these companies want our business then they must invest in our city. If not, then how about occupying one of the many empty units in St Catherine’s retail park?
”They will always prefer to go into greenfield sites outside our city limits but it is the responsibility of our planning department to continue to reject their applications.
”The battle to prevent the expansion of out-of-town retailing is a war of attrition. These multi-billion-pound companies can afford the time and the money to keep the pressure on the planning executives and to continually lobby our councillors.
”It is also increasingly difficult for our council to reject planning applications for large new developments in such a time of austerity but they must hold firm at all costs.”