Planning officers have given a thumbs down to plans for a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Montrose.
The company has expressed disappointment that its first Angus store has been recommended for refusal due to insufficient car parking.
The news comes after the company altered its original plans to increase the size of the car park by around 200 spaces.
For almost two years, Sainsbury’s has been trying to build a supermarket adjacent to the Lidl store on Brechin Road. The proposal has a lot of local support, with people keen to see Sainsbury’s moving into the north end of the town.
Sainsbury’s says the proposed new supermarket could create up to 200 jobs for local people as well as support food and drinks suppliers in Tayside.
Plans for the Brechin Road development were altered in a bid to meet planning requirements, after an earlier planning application was turned down.
The company have been in regular contact with planning officials over a protracted period of time in a bid to try to agree alterations to the proposed supermarket that would satisfy the planners’ demands.
The company has reduced the size of the proposed building by 2500 square feet, introduced extra tree planting and added around 200 more spaces in the car park.
A revised application is due to go before Angus Council’s development standards committee on Tuesday and the supermarket company has just been advised that the recommendation is to refuse the application, although the decision rests with councillors.
Sainsbury’s national development surveyor for Scotland, Paul Miller, said the company is “naturally disappointed” by the recommendation.
He added: “The local community have been extremely positive for the revised proposals and we have been heartened by the ongoing interest from the people of the town.
“We remain hopeful that elected members will reflect this strong community support on Tuesday.”
Peter Davies, chairman of the Montrose Partnership, said, “We are extremely disappointed that Angus Council has recommended the planning application for refusal.
“We believe that the job opportunities this investment would bring alongside the increase in quality and choice in food shopping outweighs the concerns raised by Angus Council.”