Sainsbury’s Perth plan unveiled next week

Jul 6 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

RETAIL giant Sainsbury’s is finally lifting the lid on its A85 traffic management strategy for a proposed megastore at East Huntingtower.

Sainsbury’s had flagged a public meeting in April to address the potential impact its United Auctions mart site plan would have on Crieff Road traffic flow.

The meeting was put back to June due to aspects of commercial sensitivity.

While the tentative June public consultation never materialised, the company says it is now in a position to update stakeholders and local residents about proposals for the 70,000 sq ft complex on Wednesday next week (July 14).

“This meeting will provide us with the opportunity to update the local community on our proposals and how we intend to move forward,” said Paul Miller, national development surveyor for Sainsbury’s Scotland.

Only a handful of people lodged objections about Sainsbury’s application with Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) planning department, and most lived close to the site.

The fundamental concern of most protestors was the planned complex’s potential to exacerbate existing congestion on the A85, which involves lengthy tailbacks at peak times and a bottleneck near Tesco.

Previously a Sainsbury’s spokesman conceded to the PA that the project hinged on the company’s ability to convince authorities and the community that its traffic management plan was water-tight.

“We will be judged by that and whether it will hinder or help,” he said.

Mr Miller explained that Sainsbury’s team had reviewed all comments submitted during the statutory consulation undertaken by PKC since the application was lodged last December.

“We are now in a position to hold an update meeting for stakeholders and local residents to discuss Sainsbury’s proposals for development in Perth,” he said.

“The development proposed by Sainsbury’s would create in excess of 500 full and part-time jobs, as well as construction jobs, representing a significant boost for Perth’s economy.

“We believe that Perth is a vibrant and continually growing city and it has been a long-standing goal for Sainsbury’s to deliver a store in the city.

“We look forward to shortly meeting with the local community and responding to comments raised during the consultation process.”

The meeting is at the Huntingtower Hotel, Crieff Road, Perth, at 7pm on Wednesday, July 14.