Councillors urged to stand firm against Tesco
OPPONENTS of Tesco proposals for a two-storey superstore in Milngavie have raised concerns over the hold the supermarket chain could eventually have on the village.
Now they are calling on councillors who did NOT vote against the proposal to confirm to the community that they WILL be objecting to Tesco's appeal against refusal of permission.
The commission for Architecture and the Built Environment say that from the north of Scotland to the south of England, schemes known as "supermarket led mixed use developments" are proposed.
In East London, Tesco propose a superstore, homes, primary school and community facilities.
Many of the proposals are in partnership with local authorities and in the seaside town of Seaton near Devon the community is up in arms that Tesco has recently received planning permission for a superstore, hundreds of homes and a hotel.
MSP Des McNulty, who points out that Tesco already own Dobbies near Milngavie, outlined the situation closer to home and explained: "In Linwood, Tesco agreed to take over the existing shopping centre which was run down and underused with only five of the 42 shop units in use.
"They got permission to build a big store and six new units after demolition of the centre, agreed to build a new Library, health centre and replace the town hall.
"However, little progress has been made — Tesco's are dragging their feet.
"In Paisley, Tesco got permission to take over the land at Love Street where the St Mirren FC ground was, build a new store on it and build a new stadium for St Mirren elsewhere in the town.
"The council would not give them permission for an Extra store so after negotiations, permission was given for a smaller store.
"This has gone ahead along with the stadium new build so it may explain why Tesco are dragging their feet in Linwood which is not too far away."
Fear that a new superstore in Milngavie would kill off the other businesses in the precinct leaving the area ripe for further Tesco development has caused opponents to call on councillors to confirm they will object at appeal stage.
When the application called in April, on a roll-call vote, 12 councillors voted for refusal — Amanda Stewart, Allan Moir, Eric Gotts, Duncan Cumming, John Dempsey, Graeme Douglas, Ashay Ghai, Billy Hendry, Gordon Low, Ian Mackay, Vaughan Moody and Michael O'Donnell.
Five members voted for a hearing and site visit — Councillors Bill Binks, Anne Jarvis, Charles Kennedy, Gillian Renwick and Jack Young and abstaining alongside council leader Rhondda Geekie were John Jamieson, Stewart MacDonald, Anne McNair and Una Walker.
Mr McNulty and MP Jo Swinson say something has to be done about the way applications are handled.
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Weather for Milngavie
Saturday 04 February 2012
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