Sainsbury's is approved despite Co-op objection

Plans for a new Sainsbury's store in Auchterarder - which grocery rival The Co-op objected to - have been given the go-ahead by councillors.

- KATHRYN ANDERSON

Perth and Kinross Council officers had recommended the application for refusal saying it was "an out-of-centre location" which is "not allocated for new retail development".

But elected members sitting on PKC's Planning and Placemaking Committee on Wednesday, July 9 gave their overwhelming support to the application, arguing it brought “much-needed choice and competition” to the Perthshire town.

The proposal-put before councillors - was for a convenience store with a car park, which would create around 15 to 20 jobs. The vacant site was a former PKC depot on Feus, on the northern side of the A824 and 900m east of Auchterarder's town centre.

Planning officers said the proposed 360m² store - despite being reduced from 448m² - was too large to be defined as a small-scale neighbourhood retail development in line with PKC's 2023 Perth and Kinross Retail Study.

PKC's Development Management and Building Standards manager Kristian Smith said: “The council's retail study what would be considered to reflect a neighbourhood/small-scale retail that would serve the local needs of the immediate population and that has been set out as a unit of 200m² or a grouping of different offerings [units] of up to 500m².”

He added: “We've all seen what has happened over decades past with out-of-town shopping, and for the scale we're looking at, the concerns we have is we are just diverting trade away from the town centre.”

However, Strathallan ward Liberal Democrat councillor Alan Watt argued locals “want the store to be as big as it can be”.

He and fellow ward SNP councillor Steven Carr - addressed the committee on behalf of the community they represent - speaking in favour of the application.