£10 million Sainsbury's approved for Montrose

Montrose will get a new Sainsbury's supermarket, after Angus councillors overwhelmingly voted for the £10 million development.

By Marjory Inglis
Published in the Courier : 31.08.11
Published online : 31.08.11 @ 11.53am

Related content

Councillors went against their officers' recommendation to refuse a planning application for the Brechin Road store on the grounds of insufficient parking.

Montrose councillor Mark Salmond led the revolution, moving that the application be allowed to go ahead on the condition traffic lights are introduced at the busy North Esk Road/Broomfield Road junction. He was "certain" 190 parking spaces is "more than adequate".

Several councillors backed the new store that will provide around 200 jobs, draw shoppers from surrounding towns and villages and break the Tesco monopoly in Montrose. The store is expected to open in around a year.

Around 30 local people travelled to Forfar to attend the meeting of Angus Council's development standards committee and support the creation of Sainsbury's first store in the county.

Councillors heard the development also had the support of local traders and retailers.

Far from feeling threatened by the supermarket opening up in the town, they believe it will bring an economic spin-off, with shoppers visiting the store from surrounding districts being attracted to the High Street.

Sainsbury's have been developing plans for their Montrose store over many months and have consulted the community. The supermarket giant has made alterations to try and meet planners' requirements.

In particular, the planning application that went before councillors had an increased number of parking spaces, with 190 spaces planned for the site, up from 170 spaces planned previously.

The increase led to a reduction in the floorspace of the store.

Planners had recommended refusal of the revised application, stating that the parking provision was insufficient and did not meet Angus Council's policy requirements.

Sainsbury's development manager Dougal Hartley made clear the company was not prepared to reduce the size of the store any further.

At the start of the meeting, planning officers outlined the proposals for the store and their reasons for recommending refusal. There had been "a significant amount of dialogue" to try to overcome the parking issue.

David May, a Montrose councillor who is not a member of the committee, was invited to speak as part of the delegation that turned up in support of a Sainsbury's in Montrose.

He said backing Sainsbury's would increase competition with the other big supermarkets, particularly Tesco.

Mr May was particularly impressed with Sainsbury's attitude to using local food producers, offering an opportunity for local businesses, especially Angus farmers, to get their products on the shelves.

Continued...