Discount supermarket Aldi’s plans to build a new store in Charleston were approved for a second time on Monday night.
The German retailer had already been granted planning permission to build a new store last year by the city council development management committee.
A court case brought about over an alcohol licensing complaint led Aldi to resubmit its planning application to speed up the process of building its new store.
Planning officers had recommended the application be refused this time around, on the basis of failing to meet a number of employment and retailing policies of the city’s development plan.
Supermarket giant Asda submitted an objection to the proposed store, and said planning permission should only be approved in accordance with the city’s development plan.
A representative from Asda told the council the store had not been performing as well as it had hoped since opening in 2013.
A delegation from Aldi told councillors during the committee meeting there were provisions to employ between 30 and 35 staff at the new store, once it opened.
The representative from Aldi also told the assembled officials it would pay employees a minimum of £8.40 per hour and they had plans for another three supermarkets in Dundee, bringing the total number of stores in the city to six.
Former Dundee citizen of the year Stella Carrington also spoke to councillors in favour of the proposal and said Aldi should be allowed to build a store at Myrekirk so people from one of the most deprived areas of the city would have the option of being able to shop at a discount food store.
Labour councillor Richard McCready said he was concerned Dundee City Council was being used as a “pawn” by the two retailers, and the planning application and appeals were costing the Dundee taxpayers.
An overwhelming number of the city’s councillors voted in favour of approving Aldi’s application, which was put forward by Councillor Alan Ross.
23 councillors voted to approve and four voted to refuse planning permission. Councillor Mohammed Asif abstained from the vote.
Meanwhile, proposals to build the Regional Performance Centre for Sport in Caird Park were withdrawn from the development management committee agenda at the last minute.
Director of city development Mike Galloway said officers had received a late legal request asking for a pre-determination hearing.
He said due to the lateness in the request and the “complex” nature of the request, officers decided to withdraw the application from the agenda, and the application would come back before the committee at the earliest opportunity.
