A brand new Lidl grocery store which is on the coronary heart of plans to regenerate Alexandria is a brief time period answer that doesn’t work for residents, a neighborhood group has warned.
The Vale of Leven Belief wrote to councillors previous to a gathering on August 17, the place proposals for the shop got the inexperienced mild.
Nonetheless, the chair of the committee deciding on the event stated he hadn’t learn the considerations previous to the assembly, as a result of the letter was issued too late, with no members of the committee elevating the Belief’s fears.
Chair, Councillor David McBride, stated that additional delays to the long-running proposals “weren't an possibility.”
Members of West Dunbartonshire Council’s infrastructure, redevelopment and financial growth (IRED) committee formally agreed to demolish the remaining buildings on Mitchell Means and hand the land over to Lidl earlier this month.
A planning software was submitted to the native authority at first of the yr by the organisation who wish to develop a brand new meals retailer with greater than 130 parking areas.
The council’s planning division has since suggested that a 25,000 sq. toes meals retailer, with 135 parking areas, separate buyer and repair entry from Financial institution Road is essentially the most agreeable means ahead.
Nonetheless Janice Ross of the Vale of Leven Belief fears the builders have been given an excessive amount of freedom to dictate how the location will look, and worries for the long-term influence.
Two years in the past the Belief wrote to councillors within the Leven ward suggesting that Lidl construct their new retailer on Mitchell Means itself to drive footfall into the city centre, and known as for deadlines on parking to be scrapped to encourage individuals to buy elsewhere on the Foremost Road.
And in a letter despatched to councillors previous to the assembly of the native authority’s IRED committee the place the choice was taken, Ms Ross says the Belief are “disheartened and dismayed on the report.”
The letter continues: “By permitting this growth to proceed in its most popular location you might be creating an elongated city centre with housing positioned proper within the center and making a silo impact which can lead to residents not traversing the city to the detriment of the small merchants.
“Our argument is that the influence of each the placement and the automotive park leads to fill and buy groceries.
“That is the precise reverse of encouraging buying within the city centre so we consider the one retail outlet that may profit is Lidl themselves.”
And with companies in Alexandria already struggling because of the influence of long-running works on the Foremost Road, the Belief questioned how they'd profit from the choice.
Janice added: “I wish to see extra rigorous figures on what number of everlasting jobs this can deliver to the city centre. Our concern is that we are going to see a small quantity of half time jobs within the Lidl growth, nonetheless the continuing influence on the remainder of the merchants might lead to a lower of employment elsewhere within the city.”
Chair of the IRED committee, Labour’s David McBride, admitted that he had not learn the letter from the Belief earlier than the assembly, and no member of the committee had raised it as a result of it had been obtained at too quick discover.
Councillor McBride stated that the committee agreed with the suggestions within the report back to proceed with the event, including: “I totally supported the advice as additional delays weren't an possibility within the Labour administration’s opinion.
“This venture has been in dialogue since 2008, throughout that point, the Vale’s city centre has been subjected to neglect.
“Underneath these proposals, the long-awaited Mitchell Means demolition can get began, Lidl will probably be constructed, and the housing growth alternative will probably be marketed for housing.”