You’ll face a long Wait- rose
Still no move for supermarket chain
A plush supermarket chain has this week refused to confirm its commitment to building a new store in Ayr.
Waitrose was granted permission two years ago to expand its portfolio with a branch in the town.
And the company had pledged to be open by “early 2016” when winning over planning chiefs at South Ayrshire Council.
But the project has since stalled, with no deal done to start work on the agreed site close to Dobbies Garden Centre.
And it’s understood council planners have all but written off the proposed store.
One senior council source said: “If you were asking us whether we thought that shop will ever appear, the honest answer is probably no.
“We did everything we could in terms of facilitating Waitrose on that site.
“And it’s very much our position that the town should be open for business, so hopefully all is not lost.
“But it doesn’t look positive at this stage.”
Waitrose, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, had promised to bring 180 new jobs to the town when winning permission for the new store.
Speaking at the time, their head of retail Mark Gifford said: “There is a feeling that Ayr is a town very much on the up and we are excited to be part of that.”
But two years on the tone has changed and a spokesman said this week: “We are continuing our discussions with Dawn Developments and will provide an update soon.”
Council development chief Jill Cronin confirmed that time is fast running out for work on the store to get underway.
She said: “When planning permission is granted, an applicant has three years to start work on the development.”