Supermarket giant back to drawing board

Retail giant Tesco has gone back to the drawing board with plans for a store in a coastal north-east village.

Permission for a 15,800sqft supermarket at the entrance to Newtonhill was granted by councillors in March.

When building work failed to start after four months, rumours circulated in the village that the supermarket chain may have put building projects on hold due to the economic climate.

New-build projects are going ahead as planned and the Newtonhill store should be open by Christmas, a Tesco spokeswoman has insisted.

The design of the building, next to the A90 Aberdeen-Stonehaven road, has been altered and will have to go back before councillors for their approval.

The new design will be “broadly similar” to the previous one but the building’s height will be reduced, the spokeswoman said.

“We know local people are keen to see us press on with our plans and we are hopeful that we will be able to deliver our new store and the fantastic employment opportunities available to our staff ahead of Christmas,” she said.

“If councillors support our amended plans at committee in September we hope to start work on site and the recruitment process as soon as possible.

“We want to reassure local people that we remain committed to delivering this local investment and are grateful for the support we have been shown to date.”

The multimillion-pound store is expected to provide employment for around 130 people. It is expected to go before the Kincardine and Mearns area committee on September 1.

Newtonhill councillor Ian Mollison said: “It will be interesting to see what changes they are making.

“Villagers will be very interested to hear that they plan to open by Christmas.”