Campaigners step-up battle ahead of supermarket decision

Revised plans have been submitted by the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, following a series of consultations, which have already seen a number of changes made to the applications.

Now the long-running saga is set to come to an end when a final decision is reached by Scarborough Borough Council’s Planning Committee on December 8.

However, the chairman of the Scarborough Town Against Tesco Store (STATS) group, which has collected more than 5,500 signatures against the company’s proposals, said the amendments had done nothing to allay fears over the impact the development could have on the town’s road network.

Malcolm Short, who hand-delivered the petition to 10 Downing Street in September, said: “We are still very much opposed to the store because they haven’t addressed the real issues of the traffic impact assessment or looked at the impact on the local residents.

“There are a lot of issues and we will be speaking out at the planning meeting about it. We are going to carry on fighting against it and even if they give permission the fight will continue.”

If the Tesco plans are approved, the group will appeal to the Secretary of State Eric Pickles amid concerns that a closure planned for a major link road, which is used by around 3,000 cars a day, will cause even more traffic tailbacks on Scarborough’s already congested roads.

Mr Short said: “No council can give permission to close Trafalgar Street West and we will appeal to the Secretary of State if it goes ahead.

“If the council passes the plans Tesco has to apply to the Secretary of State to close the road. They then have to carry out another public consultation and people will then have the chance to object of agree with the proposals. The Government then has to make a decision over the road closure. If it the road can’t be closed the application doesn’t go ahead.”

The Tesco proposals centre on a site in Dean Road which would allow the company to create an outlet covering 65,000 sq ft – more than three times the size of the firm’s existing Westwood store in the town, which it would replace.

Tesco has claimed the £40m development would create 350 jobs and help tackle Scarborough’s long-term unemployment problems.

The original plans prompted fierce opposition amid claims the development would have a major impact on traffic and the existing retail sector.

But a spokesman for Tesco said the supermarket had attempted to address any concerns raised in its revised plans.

Deborah Hayeems, regional corporate affairs manager for Tesco, said: “We’ve heard from many of our customers that they are very keen for an better Tesco store in Scarborough. We’ve been working hard to further improve the plans on the back of feedback from our consultation activity and we are proud of the proposals being considered by the council. We are hopeful that the planning committee will support the development and all the benefits that it will bring.”

The Sainsbury’s proposals have been given a far warmer reception from Scarborough’s residents. The plans would see the existing Sainsbury’s store in Falsgrave Road expanded with an extra 33,900 sq ft of retail space. The supermarket chain has claimed that the store’s expansion would create about 85 full-time and part-time jobs.

Christian Wakelin, regional development surveyor for Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re delighted that Scarborough Borough Council has settled on a date to decide on Sainsbury’s planning application. We have been working with the council to provide all the information that they need to make a decision and we hope the council will grant planning permission on December 8.”