How Sainsbury's won the battle for its first store in Dumfries

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's did not have a straightforward journey to opening its first store in the south Scotland town of Dumfries.

The first obstacle was getting restrictions altered on what it could sell from a retail unit at the Cuckoo Bridge Retail Park.

Then it faced opposition from rivals Tesco and Morrisons who both objected to its plans for the building left empty after Homebase went into administration.

However, it has ultimately been able to go ahead with a £17m investment and brings its offering to a town where its previous closest site was across the border in Carlisle.

The battle to protect the town centre of Dumfries while still attracting major companies has proved a difficult balancing act.

When the retail park was approved more than 25 years ago, the council attached a condition that only non-food bulky goods could be sold there.

The aim was to protect the vibrancy of the market town but, over time, it came to feel more and more outdated and largely ineffective.

Both B&M and The Food Warehouse have been able to get the condition amended and Next also challenged the restrictions and has now opened a new store on the retail park after closing a town centre outlet several years ago.

Against that background, Sainsbury's followed suit and argued that it too should be allowed to have the conditions modified in order to be able to move in nearby.

However, that provoked objections from its supermarket rivals.

Morrisons operates from a site closer to the town centre and said it was concerned the proposals might "further weaken" the area.

It said that the impact of the new store at Cuckoo Bridge would be "significantly adverse".

"There is no identified deficiency of foodstores in Dumfries, as assessed by the recent independent 2024 Retail Capacity Study," it argued.

It also said the impact on the town centre had been "underestimated" and urged the council to turn down the plans.

Tesco has a large store across the car park from Sainsbury's and also objected to the plan.

It said there were "critical failings" in the council's assessment of the scheme and it should not be allowed to proceed.

The company said the development had "neither adopted up-to-date evidence relating to town centre impact assessment nor demonstrated that there is a need for the proposed foodstore".

It said there was "compelling evidence" that it would have a "significant adverse impact" on the town centre.

However, public representations were all in favour.

"I strongly believe that we need healthy competition in Dumfries and that the perceived 'Tesco monopoly', should be challenged," said one submission.

"The development would bring much-needed jobs to the area, giving a real boost to the local economy and creating more opportunities for people in the town," added another letter of support.

Dumfries and Galloway Council planning officers agreed that "taking all the relevant planning considerations into account", there was "sufficient justification" in letting the plans go ahead.

"A sequential analysis has found no suitable alternative units or sites within Dumfries town centre," they added.

"A retail impact assessment has found no significantly adverse impact on the vitality and viability of the town centre and a development of the nature and scale proposed has potential to address an identified qualitative deficiency.

"In addition, the development can be accommodated without an adverse loss of road safety or residential amenity."