Plans for a new Farmfoods supermarket in Aberdeen have been rejected by council bosses worried about the dangers of lorries entering the site.
The frozen food giant pledged to build its “most attractive branch in the city” at a spot just off King Street about a year ago.
Excited locals welcomed the idea, with many in the nearby Seaton area relishing the chance to stock up on cut-price goods.
However, roads officials gave the idea the cold shoulder…
What were the Farmfoods plans?
The proposals would have meant demolishing a 50-year-old former barracks building at the 152 Don Street site.
As well as a training corps, it was latterly as a Covid testing centre.
In recent months, the “eyesore” building has been boarded up.
Farmfoods said its plans would create 20 new jobs while saving shoppers money on their grocery bills.
Papers sent to the local authority said: “Farmfoods distribute leaflets with money-off vouchers.
“This is aimed at customers undertaking bulk food shopping trips.”
Why was the new Aberdeen Farmfoods rejected?
Farmfoods, which has its roots in the city with the first branch opening in Woodside in 1954, ran into trouble when it came to road concerns.
Officials took exception to the idea of allowing both delivery lorries and shoppers to enter the site via Don Street.
They said a separate service route would be required, dismissing claims that this approach is “common practice”.
A council report states: “Delivery vehicles manoeuvring in/out of the service area would impede customers within the site, as well as impacting the flow of vehicles on Don Street itself.
“There are also road safety concerns caused by the requirement for the large delivery vehicles to reverse back towards the entrance.”
Farmfoods had offered to carry out deliveries before the shop opened, to “negate any concerns”.
But the council contended that such a condition would be impossible to monitor.
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What did locals think?
Old Aberdeen Community Council was “broadly supportive” but shared some concerns.
A letter sent to the local authority stressed that any sort of “road mishap” would “shut down this entire neighbourhood [to vehicles] – including the site’s access”.
The group’s planning liaison officer, Steve Berry, also raised fears about “potential bird presence and roosting”.
He added that the low, sloped roof could prove inviting to seagulls – and that any netting to deter them would be “unsightly and entirely out of keeping with the conservation area”.
The rejected Aberdeen Farmfoods plans are available to see on the council’s website.
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