Proposals for a second supermarket on farmland near Cove Bay have been rejected by councillors.
The plans, submitted by Hermiston Securities, were for a store covering 19,028sq ft with associated car parking, at Loirston.
At yesterday’s meeting, convener Ramsay Milne reminded committee members that only one supermarket could be approved since there was only one such development included in the current Local Development Plan.
Previously, the Thistle Hotel site in Altens had been earmarked as the ideal location for a new store, but this has now been scrapped as the owners want to continue operating as a hotel.
A report to the committee had recommended councillors reject the proposals because the scale of the development was larger than that agreed when planning permission in principle was approved, and that in the Local Development Plan.
The proposals would also contravene the Loirston Development Framework because they contain no residential element and because of the impact of car parking.
The planned site is also identified as green space and a wildlife habitat, and councillors were told any development could put this at risk.
