Supermarket issue settled, says council

Jan 23 2009 by Caroline Boxer, Strathearn Herald

PERTH and Kinross Council yesterday told the Strathearn Herald that the supermarket issue in Crieff is settled and there is no question of relinquishing the lease on the Market Park to Sainsbury’s.

When asked to clarify their position regarding the lease, a PKC spokesperson told the Herald that the Council had voted for Duchlage Farm as the preferred site for a supermarket and that this is now the ONLY site where a supermarket can be built in Crieff under the Council’s development brief.

They went on to say there will be NO supermarket at Market Park and PKC would not be relinquishing the Market Park lease, so the planning permission at the Market Park will not be implemented.

The council spokesperson referred the Herald to the text of the “New Supermarket Site in Crieff” report which was approved by a meeting of the Council on December 17.

Specifically paragraph 56 which reads: “At present, the Market Park planning consent cannot be implemented because the Council holds the lease.

“If it decides to confirm Duchlage as the preferred site for a new supermarket as part of an overall development framework for this part of Crieff, there is no action to be taken in relation to this lease (although Sainsbury’s have requested that the Council relinquish the lease and a formal response to this request will still require to be addressed).”

When the Herald asked PKC to clarify if such a response had been made to Sainsbury’s or when it would be made, we were told: “The Sainsbury’s request will be dealt with by the Property Sub-Committee at a date to be confirmed.”

When asked to comment on the Council’s position, a spokesman from Sainsbury’s said: “We are shocked by this statement by an official of the council.

“We have the live planning permission for Crieff. Throughout this process we have acted with courtesy and good faith towards all parties including the council and we will continue to do so as this issue progresses in the months ahead.”

Sainsbury’s have also made it clear that they do not consider the matter closed and will continue to pursue their plans to build on the Market Park.