Changes to Coleraine Tesco plans worry councillors

Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of Coleraine Borough Council's Planning Committee, Cllr Dallat said he was worried at Tesco's plans to change their percentage of food stock to 60% of their goods.

The original plan was to have 70% food with no more than 30% other goods.

Planners had refused these conditions but, at Tuesday's meeting, Planning representative Paul Duffy informed members that the application was now being withdrawn to allow Planners to consider variations to the conditions.

However Cllr Dallat asked: "Have Planners any concerns about what's happening in Coleraine that this supermarket seems to be ridding the shelves of food and filling them with clothes, electrical good etc?

"Have we any concerns about other shops that are being squeezed out by undercutting? Planners have allowed an excessive amount of food retailers in Coleraine in the first place.

"This will wipe out other shops and see us getting to the stage where there is nothing else but supermarkets. We need a balance and a strategy."

Mr Duffy said that Planners had not yet been able to assess the situation as they were only advised of the changes the day before the meeting.

Alderman James McClure said that the planning application had been granted some time ago and now Tesco wanted certain conditions lifted.

"The application was granted as it was and that's how it should remain," he said.

Cllr Billy Leonard said that councillors couldn't sit one night at a rates meeting and bemoan how many businesses in Coleraine were going to the wall, and then the next night sit and allow "this creeping cancer of the big boys" which could have a detrimental effect on small and medium sized enterprises.

Cllr David Barbour likened the situation to the Wild West with the larger wagons circling the smaller ones.

"Coleraine town centre is dying on its feet ," he said, adding that something needed to be done to redress the balance.

Cllr Timothy Deans said that the Tesco plans had been controversial and added that he hoped the supermarket was not trying to "chance their arm" by changing the conditions of their planning permission.

A spokesperson for Tesco said, "The overall size of the store is not changing, we are instead revising the internal layout which will add less than 3% to our sales floor space.

"Throughout the planning process, we always indicated that we were keen to increase our ranges. At present, due to our town centre location, there is no limit placed on the amount of non-food we sell and we are therefore asking the planners to reconsider the new restriction which they have placed on the new store.

"We believe that a purpose built store in the town centre of Coleraine will be a positive enhancement for the area and the refurbishment of this tired store will help attract even more people into the town centre."