Dunoon Community Council is to hold a public meeting seeking the community’s views on proposals for a major supermarket development on the site currently occupied by Walkers Mica home and garden centre.
A planning application has been submitted to Argyll and Bute Council for a 43,000 square feet store with filling station and parking, and is expected to be discussed and decided later this summer.
Developers have said that the £20 million project would bring up to 280 jobs to Cowal.
Dunoon Community Council (DCC) initially objected to the plans, and developers came to Dunoon in May to meet with them and also members of Dunoon and Cowal Business Association (DCBA).
The objections raised by DCC included traffic congestion arising from the proposed store’s proximity to Dunoon hospital and schools and also the impact on the town’s small independent stores.
DCBA asked for evidence of where a large supermarket development of this nature had had a positive effect on local shops. Project managers’ James Harbison and Company wrote to DCBA in June citing five projects it had previously worked on around Scotland, where local traders had welcomed the arrival of a supermarket giant such as Asda or Tesco.
Harbison claims that the developments - in Kelso, Alnwick and Berwick upon Tweed - had arrested ‘leakage’ from the town centres, by offering more choice and meaning shoppers did not leave the smaller towns in favour of bigger outlets elsewhere.
The company also pointed out that Asda in Huntly had set up a ‘collect and save’ reward scheme for the benefit of small town centre shops, while in Girvan, it had been active in providing tourist signage to encourage store shoppers to visit the harbour and other attractions, including shops.
Finally, in its response to DCBA, Harbison cited the Scottish Retail Consortium’s evidence to the Scottish parliament, which said that encouraging new retail developments in ‘appropriate’ locations can encourage people to shop locally.
After answering the questions that DCC raised, Harbison asked whether the community council would consider reviewing its position on the planning application - but community councillors are keen to hear what local people think about the proposals and have organised a public event later this month to gather views.
In its publicity material, DCC asks a number of questions - does Dunoon want a new supermarket nearly twice the size of its existing largest store, Morrisons? Would this development enhance the town or have a detrimental effect on the town centre? Would a new, large supermarket stop people shopping ‘on the other side’?
Community councillors have been seeking opinions on an informal basis in the run-up to the meeting. So far, opinion has been divided, with many welcoming the opportunity of more choice and cheaper food/petrol, but at the same time fearful for the impact on Dunoon’s high street.
One of the biggest considerations for most people is, quite simply, the identity of the supermarket in question. Despite considerable speculation and rumour, Harbison and Company says only that it is likely to be one of the UK’s ‘big four’ - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
The brand involved is unlikely to be revealed very quickly, and certainly not at DCC’s public meeting, but regardless of this, local residents are urged to come along and make their views on the proposed development known.
The meeting will be held in Dunoon’s Queen’s Hall on Monday July 26, starting at 7.30pm.
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