Road worries delay plans again for new supermarkets in resort

The Yorkshire Post has learnt that protracted talks between highways officials and representatives from both Tesco and Sainsbury’s are continuing and a decision on the proposed developments is not expected to be made until the autumn at the earliest.

Senior officials from Tesco have now organised a meeting tomorrow with North Yorkshire County Council’s highways officers as well as Scarborough Borough Council’s planners in the hope that a new timescale can be hammered out.

It is understood that a similar meeting is being organised with Sainsbury’s representatives in the next few weeks.

Scarborough’s head of regeneration and planning Pauline Elliott confirmed discussions are continuing with both supermarkets and the county council in the hope of resolving the highways issues.

She added: “Once these issues have been resolved we are required by law to reconsult on revised plans and only then will we be fixing a committee date. This will not be before September.”

The attempts by both Tesco and Sainsbury’s to bolster their presence in the seaside resort have been repeatedly delayed, although it had initially been hoped the rival planning applications would be considered in the spring.

But it emerged in March that Scarborough council officers had opted to delay a decision on the planning applications due to worries over the impact the schemes will have on the town’s retailers.

The planning applications had been expected to go before Scarborough’s planning committee in April, before the timescale was revised with a decision due over the summer.

However, both Tesco and Sainsbury’s confirmed yesterday that they now expect the applications to be considered by the council in the autumn at the earliest.

A Scarborough council spokeswoman confirmed in March that “various factors” needed to be addressed, such as the impact on the town’s roads networks and the results of major public consultations for both schemes.

But one of the biggest issues has centred around the impact of the proposed developments on Scarborough’s economy and the threat to the town’s independent retailers.

The borough council has sought specialised retail advice, especially in relation to the potential impact of the supermarket developments on the town centre.

Sainsbury’s has expressed its disappointment over the delays after informal discussions with the borough council began two years ago before a planning application was submitted at Christmas.

It is understood that the delays have been caused in part by Tesco revising a planning application submitted at the start of January to address issues raised in a public consultation.

The revised plans have yet to be published.

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.

But the plans have prompted fierce opposition amid claims the development would have a major impact on the roads networks and the existing retail sector.

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.