Councillors might have to choose between new supermarkets proposed for Banff and Macduff – according to Morrisons bosses urging them to “make the best decision”.
The retail giant plans to pave over Banff’s Canal Park to build a new shop, car park and petrol station.
Top brass have now formally lodged an application with Aberdeenshire Council.
It comes just three months after Aldi submitted an application for a new store a five-minute drive away on Duff Street in Macduff.
Both are now under consideration, and a request has been made for them to be decided on the same day.
Banff Morrisons vs Macduff Aldi?
Dossiers submitted to the local authority by Morrisons suggest that bosses believe only one should get the go-ahead.
In an e-mail to councillor Michael Roy, corporate services manager Liz Tattersley alludes to rival plans for a “discount food store development” on Macduff’s Duff Street.
She writes: “This presents two major applications for the community to make a choice on.
“We believe our proposal offers significant benefits to the towns of Banff and Macduff.
“Our proposal would create 120 new job opportunities in comparison to 35 proposed for the discount store.
“We hope that both applications can be considered at the same committee meeting,
“We believe that way, as local councillors, you will have all the relevant information to hand and can be confident that the decision you make can be the best decision for the whole community.”
Co-op has already intervened
The firm is yet to lodge any objection to the much-closer Morrisons but has weeks left to make comments to the council.
About 140 residents wrote to Aberdeenshire Council to weigh in on the Macduff Aldi plans – with the majority in favour.
For many years people in Banff and Macduff have bemoaned a lack of shopping options.
Sport Scotland’s concerns about Banff Morrisons
The Banff Morrisons plans have divided the town, with many welcoming the new store while others battle to protect Canal Park from development.
And Sport Scotland has now raised concerns about football sides being left homeless by the scheme.
The government’s sporting quango says some crucial information has been omitted from the detailed documents sent to the council.
Last summer, when the plans began to emerge, local sports sides such as Banff Rovers were given to believe some funding would be provided to help them relocate.
Canal Park loss ‘not worth thinking about’
And players told us that the lack of similar affordable playing surfaces in the area could spell the end for some grassroots sides.
Steven Hadden said: “Other options, like the astroturf in Macduff, are cost-prohibitive for the majority of clubs.
“It’s not worth thinking about what will happen if we lose Canal Park.
But the detailed application makes no mention of what will happen to clubs displaced from the common good land.
Plans ‘fail to address loss of pitch’
Sport Scotland has now lodged a “holding objection” while awaiting more information.
It states: “In June 2021 we received various communications about the proposed development site.
“These included representations from clubs and responses from council officers.
“References were made in correspondence last year to an additional package of pitch mitigation measures which would be delivered to address concerns about the pitch loss.
“From a review of the planning application documents, there is no clarification as to what these measures are, if any.
“There is also no justification set out within the documents for the loss of the pitch or impact on the current users of the site.”
Planning rules that protect pitches
The body also mentions that Scottish planning policy dictates outdoor sports facilities should be “safeguarded” unless:
- The new development is part of the site
- It is another sports facility of “comparable or greater” benefit
- The scheme “involves only a minor part of the outdoor sports facility” and would not affect its use for sport and training
- Or there is “a clear excess” of sites to meet sporting demand in the area
You can view the Banff Morrisons plans, and lodge your support or objection, here.
