New supermarket set for spa town

CONTROVERSIAL plans for a major new Marks & Spencer supermarket for Harrogate and to overhaul of one of the most congested routes into the town, are set to be agreed by councillors.

By The Newsroom

Published 27th Jun 2012, 07:00 BST

The proposals for the new Marks & Spencer Simply Food store, which is planned for the Nidd Vale Motors site in Leeds Road and will create up to 50 jobs, have been recommended for approval at a Harrogate Borough Council planning committee next week.

The scheme, which also includes an overhaul of the notoriously congested junction outside the site, follows hot on the heels of the controversial Tesco superstore application which sparked uproar in the spa town earlier this year - the last postcode in mainland Britain without one.

But the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce - which continues to campaign fiercely against the Tesco application - has welcomed the Marks & Spencer proposal as an important new addition to the town.

Sandra Doherty, president of the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: “This will be a real boost to Harrogate.

“I hope that it will also sort out one of the main routes into the town.”