Campaigners welcome council’s Aldi rejection

THE failure of German supermarket giants Aldi to get pe r m ission for their fourth Dundee store has been welcomed by community campaigners.

City councillors last night voted 17 votes to six against the company’s plans for a £4.25 million shop on Tom Johnston Road at Claypotts, on the outskirts of Broughty Ferry.

Planning officers recommended councillors refuse the application because the seven-acre site had been earmarked for industrial use.

John Watson, planning secretary of Broughty Ferry Community Council, said he was delighted that “good sense had prevailed”.

Mr Watson added: “The community council had objected to this application on several grounds.

“We investigated the application thoroughly. There were serious concerns that if the supermarket went ahead it would add to the traffic congestion in the area.

“There is already a significant traffic management problem at Claypotts and this development would add to those.

“We also felt that although Aldi was offering employment at the store, this could be at the detriment of local jobs and local businesses.”

Speaking at last night’s meeting, Aldi’s property director Philip Johnston said: “There is a clear demand for one of our supermarkets in the area.

“We would also build two industrial units behind the store and we would be prepared to subsidise a new bus route, contribute to a new footpath and install chargers for electric vehicles in the car park.

“The store would also bring 35 new well-paid jobs to the area.”

But planning convener Will Dawson said the scheme went against the authority’s own local planning policy and put forward a motion to reject the proposal:

He said: “I am not anti-business but we have policies and procedures in place and we have to make sure these are followed.”

And he was supported by Broughty Ferry Conservative councillor Derek Scott, who said: “I would be concerned for the future of Broughty Ferry’s shops if this went ahead.”

Independent councillor Gregor Murray attempted to get the committee to back the plans, and moved the amendment that the application should go ahead.

He said: “This site has lain empty for 10 years and this is an opportunity for something to be developed there.”

An artist’s impression of how the Aldi store would have looked.