Ottery set for supermarket giant showdown
SAINSBURY S plans for an Ottery store have been handed to local authority planning chiefs, meaning the town is set for a supermarket giant showdown in the new-year.
SAINSBURY'S plans for an Ottery store have been handed to local authority planning chiefs, meaning the town is set for a supermarket giant showdown in the new-year.
East Devon District Council (EDDC) wants to consider both Tesco's factory site and Sainsbury's Hind Street planning applications at the same time- as it did in Seaton in September.
Tesco's controversial plans, part of a massive re-generation of the town's factory site, have attracted 179 objections from residents.
Rival Sainsbury's wants Ottery to be the first town in the region to feature its brand, and long-awaited plans for a 20,00sq ft premises include:
* 200 new job
* Cash points
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* A free shoppers' car park with 129 spaces
* New pedestrian access to the town centre
* In-store customer toilets
* A biomass boiler to generate renewable energy
Designs retain the majority of site's listed the boundary wall, and representatives have vowed to keep the monthly Hind Street Farmers' Market, and, claimed the store's architectural aspects have won the support of South West Design Review Panel.
Jamie Baker, Sainsbury's regional development executive, said: "This increase in retail choice and competition is key to attracting the 80 to 90 per cent of residents in the Ottery area that currently do their main food shop elsewhere, including our Exeter foodstore."
EDDC's development management committee will decide the fate of both bids and a spokesman said yesterday said no decision will be made before February 2010.
He added: "When dealing with rival supermarket proposals, it is best practice to consider the applications side-by-side at the same meeting. This methodology would be our preference in this case and we will now be looking at whether this is feasible."
* SEE the plans and designs and read much more about Sainsbury's bid at www.sidmoutherald.co.uk. Get the low-down on Ottery's store wars in next Friday's Herald.
