Battle lines have been drawn after supermarket giant Asda objected to a multi-million pound Arbroath development.
Big name national outlets are understood to be lining up a move to units on the site of the old Metal Box factory on Dundee Road.
The land is to the immediate south-west of the existing Westway retail park where Asda is situated.
The application submitted by Brackenbrae Investments Limited includes food, non-food and drive-through units.
A public consultation on the £11 million proposal has already been held.
Jigsaw Planning has now objected to the proposal on behalf of Asda, saying the development would present a “significant threat” to the town centre’s vitality and viability.
Planning consultant Katherine Sneeden said: “Asda consider that, as well as being contrary to the site’s allocation in the adopted Local Development Plan (LDP), the proposals present a significant threat to the town centre’s vitality and viability, due to the scale and nature of the scheme and should therefore be refused.”
She said the impact would be “significant in relative terms given the quantum of retail and the potential for town centre tenants to relocate”.
Ms Sneeden added: “In addition to the attractiveness to retailers, the scheme will also draw shoppers away from the town centre which will impact on the level of the associated linked trips to other services and facilities in the town.
“It is strongly recommended that the council seek further scenarios to be assessed so they can consider the true potential impact of this development.”
Members of Arbroath Retail and Business Association are also opposed to the development.
Chairman Kaleem Ahmed, 28, has lodged an objection with Angus Council.
The group is urging shoppers to submit their views on the scheme in the hope it can persuade the local authority to protect the town’s existing traders.
Brackenbrae Investments Limited said they had been encouraged by interest in the project, which they believe could create hundreds of new jobs.
Steven Thomson, director of Innes Associates acting on behalf of the developer, said the proposed retail park would create jobs and provide a “significant boost” to the local economy.
