A major supermarket chain has confirmed that it will not give up on coming to Glenrothes and has pledged to retain its interest in the town.
Sainsbury’s suffered a bitter blow last month when Kingdom Shopping Centre owners AXA/CIS opted to select rival Tesco as the preferred bidder for a new store as part of the centre’s planned expansion.
This was in spite of the fact that Sainsbury’s had spent a number of years in negotiations only for Tesco to swoop in and seal a last-minute deal.
However, Sainsbury’s has had time to digest the decision and revealed that it will not simply walk away from the work it has put in to develop a new store in Glenrothes.
The company’s national development surveyor for Scotland Paul Miller told The Courier that it has carefully considered its position since the Kingdom Centre’s owners concluded a conditional deal with Tesco and is still holding out hope its plans could come to fruition.
“Whilst we are obviously disappointed not to be selected as the preferred bidder we have taken the decision not to put our hard work to waste and, as such, are retaining an active interest in bringing Sainsbury’s to Glenrothes,” Mr Miller said.
“As the people of Glenrothes will be aware, we have invested a huge amount of time and resource into our proposals for the Kingdom Centre site.
“Throughout the process we have sought to work with the business, retail and wider Glenrothes community to ensure our proposals were met with approval.
“We believe we can deliver what the people of Glenrothes want for their town centre and give people the retail experience the town deserves.
“As such, we intend to progress our planning proposals for the site and leave our bid open and available.
“Our intention is to remain actively involved to ensure that we stand ready to make good on our competitive and compliant bid for the town centre site.”
Sainsbury’s held a two-day public consultation in the Rothes Halls in March to showcase its proposals for a 60,000 square foot store in the heart of Glenrothes-with Tesco doing likewise that very same week.
The Sainsbury’s event was attended by around 300 people and bosses said the feedback they had received had been overwhelmingly positive, claiming the “vast majority” of those who responded had come out in favour of Sainsbury’s coming to Glenrothes.
Despite that, AXA/CIS announced that it would give Tesco preferred bidder status and relevant planning applications are expected to go before local councillors soon, ahead of an estimated late 2012/early 2013 opening date.
Amid continued speculation that financial clout was at the root of the decision, there were suggestions at the time that Sainsbury’s might decide to launch a legal challenge against Tesco, perhaps mirroring a similar situation in the Borders town of Kelso, where Sainsbury’s eventually won a lengthy planning battle over Tesco to build a new store in 2010.
In relation to Glenrothes, however, Sainsbury’s seems set to pursue its proposal as planned and will be waiting in the wings should the Tesco plans which will create over 400 jobs reach any stumbling block.
Mr Miller added, “We would like to thank those who took the time to attend our exhibition and who have taken the time to engage with Sainsbury’s over the last few months on our Kingdom Centre proposals.
“Sainsbury’s have been extremely encouraged by the positive response from the residents of Glenrothes and remain committed to bringing our brand to the heart of the town.”