Montrose superstore saga ends with fresh plans.

Fresh application has been submitted for site abandoned by Sainsbury’s

A £10 million Angus superstore site that was ditched during the credit crunch is set for a fresh development.

Retail giant Sainsbury’s abandoned its plans for a first Angus store in 2015, three years after it aimed to start work in Montrose.

Locals were “disappointed” to miss out on a new shop at the empty field on Brechin Road, after the firm also pulled out of a new store for Perth.

But The Courier can reveal fresh plans for another shop that has experienced a meteoric rise while others have pulled out of building new premises.

Kilmac has launched an application for a large 22,000 square foot retail unit and two 12,000 square foot units with 172 car parking spaces, and junction improvements.

Designs have been submitted with the branding of Home Bargains on the lead unit.

Kilmac stated: “The proposed development will deliver a number of significant benefits to the local economy.

“The development will result in enhancement and increased use of a previously under-utilised site, regeneration and investment into the existing retail and commercial area, creation of new jobs to local people, and further job creation through construction, maintenance and security.”

Based in Liverpool and run by founder Tom Morris and his brother Joe, Home Bargains generated sales of £1.47 billion in the last financial year, and pre-tax profits of £147.1m.

At present there are about 400 Home Bargains branches.

The company’s ambition is to take that number to 800, according to its website.

Shops typically measure between 10,000 sq ft and 15,000 sq ft, but in the past few years it has sought premises as big as 30,000 sq ft.

Construction of the Sainsbury’s store was scheduled to start in early 2012 after the firm won its fight for planning permission but doubts over what would have been the company’s first Angus store intensified when the supermarket chain also pulled out of building a Perth outlet last year.

The firm blamed changing shopping patterns for the decision.

Designs have been submitted with the branding of Home Bargains on the lead unit.