By Alan Wilson

DUNDEE WAS “never in the equation” for Tesco’s new super depot planned at Livingston, Dundee City Council administration leader Councillor Jill Shimi said last night.

Following a meeting between executives from Tesco and a council delegation at Dundee City Chambers yesterday, Mrs Shimi severely criticised Tesco’s attitude and accused the executives of not answering questions on the rationale for the relocation of the supermarket giant’s distribution depot from Dundee to West Lothian.

She added that the council is now seeking a meeting with the Tesco board for an explanation to be provided.

“I am disappointed that this meeting did not take us any further forward and we will now be seeking to meet with the board of Tesco for them to explain this decision.

“At the meeting today we asked questions about the rationale for the relocation and these were not answered.

“We believe this decision has been made on assumptions and we want to challenge those assumptions. That is imperative for the workforce who are being affected by this decision and for the wider city economy.

“We made it clear to Tesco that alternative sites were available in the city for a new facility but it seems that Dundee was never in the equation. We now want to discuss this at the highest level with the board of Tesco and we want real answers to our questions.”

The city council was represented by Mrs Shimi, economic development convener Councillor Joe Morrow, depute economic development convener Councillor Fiona Grant, Lord Provost John Letford, chief executive Alex Stephen and economic development director Doug Grimmond, while Dundee West MSP Kate MacLean was also in attendance.

Mr Morrow added, “This meeting represents the first stage in a long-term process that we hope will see the company reverse this very disappointing decision.

“Tesco is a major player in the city’s economy and we appreciate that the call centre operation still represents a huge investment by Tesco in Dundee. But that does not diminish our determination to seek alternatives for the company and ensure that these jobs are saved.”

A spokesman for Tesco later denied the company had not considered Dundee as a location for its new super depot.

“We looked at the Dundee site and the existing Livingston site and neither existing site was suitable for a larger depot to service all our stores in Scotland.

“50% of our Scottish stores are in the central belt and Livingston is in a better position geographically.”

In response to Mrs Shimi’s complaint council representatives’ questions went unanswered, the spokesman said, “Some of the questions were very detailed.

“We have agreed to get back to the council with answers.”