Developers have revealed that the bulk of the construction jobs for their proposed 20-acre Peterhead retail park will be given to local firms.
The proposals for the Buchan Gateway area on the outskirts of the north-east’s largest town include a hotel, pub, shops, restaurants and a supermarket.
Hermiston Securities – a branch of the Muir Group which brought DIY giant B&Q to the port – let planning consent on a previous proposal expire when the credit crunch hit.
Now, with fresh interest from big-brand operators, the firm has revived the scheme.
At a public consultation meeting in the town yesterday developers also gave a clearer estimate of the number of jobs which would be available in the completed retail park.
Hermiston Securities’s development manager John Evans-Freke said he expected at least 240 full-time jobs would be on offer, or alternatively as many as 450 part-time jobs.
In reality the figure would be between those two figures, dependent on how operators manage their staff.
However Mr Evans-Freke revealed for the first time that the majority of the construction work on what would be a huge project would be offered to local firms.
He said: “The site would be managed by Muir Construction but built by local firms.
“We’re based in Fife and it would be impractical to bring our own labour.
“When we build B&Q, the Les Taylor Group did the groundwork and we had painters and electricians from across the town involved.”
An agent from the Muir group also allayed fears the retail park could hinder town centre regeneration.
John Agnew said: “The whole masterplan represents a considerable investment in Peterhead and shows our confidence in the economic situation in the town.
“Having new operators benefits consumers because it brings competition and encourages other brands to up their game.”
He added that the project was allocated as part of Aberdeenshire Council’s own Local Development Plan, which is focused on regeneration.
The retail warehouse which has been proposed can be broken down into several separate units, two of which have already been sold to operators.
However, Mr Agnew explained that none of the units would be smaller than 5,000sq ft and therefore would only attract retailers too large for town centre premises.