Tesco is expected to submit a planning application for a Glenrothes superstore this week, it has been revealed.
The supermarket giants will ask Fife Council to consider a bigger store than previously indicated 95,000 square feet rather than 85,000.
The Kingdom Centre site, the subject of a prolonged battle between Tesco and Sainsbury’s, is key to the regeneration of the town centre as it is hoped it will be a catalyst for investment.
Tesco concluded a conditional deal with Kingdom Centre owners AXA/CIS last month, naming them as preferred bidder as part of the centre’s expansion.
This was despite three years of talks between AXA/CIS and Sainsbury’s and came as Sainsbury’s announced they were ready to sign on the dotted line.
Tesco has said it will create around 400 jobs, half of which will be targeted at the long-term unemployed as the Glenrothes store will be the company’s first Regeneration Partnership venture in Fife, mirroring 26 UK stores which have attracted more than 3400 long-term unemployed back to work over 10 years.
Planning permission was granted for the North Street site in December 2007 and land transactions were agreed to pave the way.
These included the demolition of New Glenrothes House, the CISWO and the Glenrothes YMCA, with the latter two to move to new premises.
However no deal was struck between AXA/CIS and a retailer until last month.
Tesco is expected to submit three applications for planning one for the new store with car parking, one for reconfiguration of the town centre and one for car parking at Jubilee Grove.
Tesco was quizzed on its plans by the Glenrothes Area Futures Group, whose members expressed concerns about parking.
Secretary Colin Nikolic said there was still resentment among locals that Sainsbury’s seemed to have been outbid, but that the group had no preference as to which supermarket went ahead.