PLANS to build a new superstore on the edge of a north-east town could be sunk – along with the promise of dozens of jobs – amid opposition from council officers.
National retail chain Home Bargains wants to set up shop at Fraserburgh, on land next to the recently-opened Asda supermarket.
But the scheme has fallen foul of local authority planners, who have questioned the firm’s reasons for dismissing other sites nearer the town centre.
Council officers have even suggested parent company TJ Morris should slash the size of its proposed development and squeeze it into another location. The company is aiming to expand into Fraserburgh following the success of its newest Scottish branch at Peterhead, which opened for business last year.
A two-acre site between Watermill Road and the B9031 road to Rosehearty has been earmarked for the Fraserburgh operation. The scheme would represent an investment of more than £500,000 and could create between 40-50 jobs.
TJ Morris lodged its proposal for the 22,500sq ft outlet with Aberdeenshire Council in September.
But now, a memo to council chiefs claims the firm has failed to meet local authority policies aimed at protecting town centre traders.
Among the locations considered by the company was the old Alexandra Hotel site on the corner of High Street and Denmark Street. This was dismissed as being too small for a new Home Bargains branch.
Another site, the old Power Jacks factory off South Harbour Road, was deemed too big and “financially unviable”.
In a written assessment, a spokesman for TJ Morris said: “None of the vacant units and sites within the town centre are large enough to provide an area of land required for a store or they are financially unviable.”
The council’s planning department argues that, despite its size, the Alexandra Hotel site is “still viable”. A spokesman said: “The maximum size of the store on the former Alexandra Hotel site is 12,500sq ft which is seen to be viable as there is a Home Bargains in Inverurie which is of a smaller scale than the maximum size.”
The proposal is expected to be discussed by councillors in the coming weeks, when planners will reveal whether or not they believe the application should be granted permission.
Last night, Fraserburgh resident and community activist, Mary Melville, said: “On one hand, if the store is being built next to Asda it will be good for both, but there are smaller, independent businesses in the town that could suffer.”
Fraserburgh’s Asda opened in the summer. The supermarket project was first proposed by developers in 2006, but was thrown into doubt three years ago when talks with several retail groups stalled.
The plan was revived in 2012 after fresh interest from Asda.