Councillor James Robb has just informed us that he has had confirmation from Argyll and Bute Council that the Executive Committee decision tomorrow (2nd February) may clear the way for the approval of the Waitrose application for a major food store at Cardross Road in Helensburgh.
In his statement, Councillor Robb opens up the issue of ‘mitigation’ – essentially how much Waitrose should be required to pay in cash to contribute to the cost of the loss of trade to the town centre that will result from their presence on the periphery of the town.
‘The Council has just confirmed that if the new master plans are approved at the Executive Committee meeting tomorrow, to prevent a large food store on the pier head and reserve the former Hermitage site for housing, the major reason for refusal of the Waitrose site (Ed: at Cardross Road opposite the new Hermitage Academy) will be removed.
‘That major obstacle was the Sequential Test which states in a simple form that the suitable site closest to a town centre must be used first for retail.
‘There are no other options, if the master plans are approved, for a major supermarket except out of town.
‘Approval is now possible if agreement can be reached on how much Waitrose should pay to mitigate (compensate) for the £8.1m trade (Council figure) it will suck out of the town centre.
‘One way to consider how much this should be is to look at the estimated £5m increase in value of the Waitrose site from the change of use from business to retail.
‘How should that be split?
‘A reasonable approach would be for Waitrose to pay the same price for the site but the planning gain be split 50/50 between mitigation and the land owner.
‘That would provide for up to £2.5m in mitigation to be paid to the Council, ring-fenced for town centre sea defences and other improvements to support the vitality of the town centre.
‘Of course the final amount is a matter for the Planning Committee to agree as part of any decision to grant approval.
Wow! Never saw that one coming!
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For Crazy She-Bat:
The issue – which does not mean that it is an issue the council would consider – is whether whatever amount of ‘mitigation’ is agreed can actually mitigate the loss to the town centre down the years – where a decision to site a foodstore on the pierhead would actually boost the chances for town centre business regeneration.
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Sorry, my sarcasm was meant about the foregone conclusion that I really should have put money on 6 months ago.
On the subject of mitigation, perhaps Waitrose building a lovely new sports and leisure facility on the pierhead and sorting the sea defences would be a possibility.
Somehow the thought of money going into the Council, raises alarm bells to me as to where it would end up being spent – ie something like the Colquhoun Square massacre?
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I can understand a developer of expensive housing being required to provide a proportion of affordable homes, and a supermarket developer being required to pay for road improvements to cope with the extra traffic generated – but for them to pay for something else not related to their development might be stretching planning approval conditionality rather far. And Waitrose stores aren’t the giant variety – quite the opposite, they tend to be quite modest compared with those of Tesco / Asda / Sainsbury (excepting convenience stores).
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I understand what you are saying Robert, its not really Waitrose’s remit to build such a facility. My thoughts were based more on the amount of money concerned. Would it be impossible for Waitrose to commission a company to build such a facility and then donate it to the town? Would they also not get some kind of tax break on it? I could be a wee bit out of my depth on that side of things though.
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It may be that – given their tokens for good causes system at their check-outs – Waitrose prefer to ensure that they and their customers keep control of how ‘community contributions’ get distributed. In their Helensburgh project website they state that they’d donate £1,000 a month to ‘charities and good causes’ through this scheme. My experience elsewhere is that their ‘Community Matters’ scheme gives you a choice of three different recipients.
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I remember the days when the public sector built public sector things.
It’s important to remember that many people don’t use the town centre already, preferring–entirely logically–to shop in better shops on their way to or from work.
And that the town centre is already alarmingly full of traffic, and a large store on the pierhead would only exacerbate that.
And that putting all the shops in the centre of town obliges most people to drive into the centre of town, given the distances involved.
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Not over by a long shot !! dont put your money on anything getting approved.
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Perhaps the shop keepers should address the issue of how to draw people to the town centre, starting with the retail experience that they provide themselves. With the exception of a few good shops, Helensburgh’s retail experience is completely depressing. There are so many outdated frilly canopy shop fronts complete with naff hanging baskets.I feel the shopkeepers are incapable of seeing the bigger picture. A supermarket on the pier, taking up valuable parking space, currently used by shoppers, is not going to be a knight in shining armour! There are many flourishing towns that don’t have supermarkets plonked in the town centre. Instead of employing a campaign co ordinator to fight the Waitrose application, the retailers should appoint a consultant to maximise benefits that Waitrose could bring to local shops. Planning gain money could go to a fund to upgrade the shop fronts in line with design guidlines. Glasgow City Council provided similar grants to retailers in King Street and Merchant City, which transformed that area. Day trippers do exist, they just don’t come to Helensburgh anymore. The shop keepers have the power to change that. It is their choice whether they rise to that challenge
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‘Day trippers’: If you were visiting Scotland for the first time, and were driving out of Glasgow heading for the West Coast / Highlands, how aware would you be of the existence of Helensburgh, unless you were visiting Hill House or wanting to catch a glimpse of weapons of mass destruction? The layout of the A82, and the worldwide fame of Loch Lomond, almost guarantee that most visitors are entirely unaware that Helensburgh exists. At least the arrival of Waitrose might bring more local visitors in (excepting folk in Cowal and Inverclyde, given the barrier formed by the lower Clyde these days)
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The retailers aren’t opposed to Waitrose coming to Helensburgh, they are opposed to an edge of town retail development. There is no case study available anywhere that shows that allowing this has done anything but damage to a town centre. With regard to mitigation, who are you going to compensate? The council for the loss of business rates from retailers and businesses forced to close? The landlords who are unable to rent out their retail units? Employees of those businesses who are forced out of their jobs? Or home owners whose house prices fall due to the knock on effect of all this? You are very critical of Helensburgh’s retail experience, but at least we have shops, some of which you reluctantly agree are good. You don’t have to look very far to see what an edge of town retail development does to a town, just drive a few miles down the road to Dumbarton. Local retailers and businesses sponsor local sports teams, donate prizes for raffles for local schools and charities, provide stalls at the numerous fundraising fetes and fairs that are held in the town year round. This they are happy to do. It’s about being part of a community, a community which will be irrevocably damaged if the town centre is allowed to decline.
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Robert. There are far worse places than Helensburgh that have been transformed by iconic buildings and regeneration. Falkirk wasn’t on the tourism map until they built the wheel and visitor centre. We are fortunate to have an iconic building in the form of the Hill House. Day trippers do come to Helensburgh, but unfortunately the town centre is awful, so you can’t blame them for not hanging about or returning. Day trippers aside, the locals themselves have very few decent places to shop. Perhaps Waitrose will be a wake up call to the shop keepers, who seem to have forgotten that they have to sell products that people want to buy. Not to deprive the consumer of decent shopping options, such as Waitrose. The Helensburgh shop keepers only survive because Helensburgh is an affluent, captive audience.
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You’ve got more than one iconic building in the area, but the state of the seminary at the back of Cardross – despite rescue efforts over many years – shows how tough it can be to revive what appear to be obvious candidates for salvation. I’m not that familiar with the centre of Helensburgh – living in mid-Argyll – but I’m sure that the centre of Helensburgh doesn’t have to be ‘awful’. The current debates on ferry provision, on Dunoon’s ferries, and on the proposed loss of what seems to be a near-useless passenger link between Gourock and Helensburgh make me wonder how much potential trade in Helensburgh is snuffed out by the lack of a regular cross-Clyde link. The town’s present catchment area is so much smaller than it might be, or is there perhaps a fear that Helensburgh citizens would abandon their local shops for the delights of Gourock and Greenock?
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I was fortunate enough to be taught by Izi Metzstein & Andy MacMillan at the Mac and I agree Robert, that it is frustrating to see iconic buildings, such as St Peters decay. My original post was to point out that perhaps someone within the reatiler’s alliance should be insisting that Waitrose directly contributes to the up grading of the town centre shop facades. As I said, such an initiative was funded by Glasgow City Council to transform the King Street area with huge success. Shop fronts are the public face of a town and yes there are a few in Helensburgh that do this positively. But there are many with neglected fronts, sometimes with half the signage missing. They just add to the neglected feel of the town. Again I agree with you Robert, there should be a regular cross link ferry service, especially when there are cruise ships, no doubt with many passengers keen to visit the Hill House. Helensburgh has so much potential, but many of the shop keepers seem oblivious to that. If we do get independance and have to fill the void left by a large proportion of the local population, then we must be an attractive town to people looking to relocate. I returned to Helensburgh to raise my young children, as it is a fantastic place in many respects. But when I show visitors around the town and view it through their eyes, I can’t help but feel that the town centre is the place that lets Helensburgh down. Unlike Dunoon, Helensburgh has the advantage of being a commuter town and it’s proximity to Glasgow makes it the ideal place to raise a family. But how will we attract people to settle in the town if their impression is formed by driving through a neglected town centre? I am generally in favour of Waitrose and fall into the category of the “school drop off mum looking for a coffe”. But I would much rather sit in a proper coffee shop in town than a souless supermarket. I feel the good shops have nothing to fear with the arrival of Waitrose, I just wish there was more of them.
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Apologies for missing out the bit that should have said. “Unlike Dunoon, post Holy Loch, if we do get independance and have to fill the void left by faslane’s work force, we will have to attract people looking to relocate.” I wasn’t Dunoon bashing!
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JSC. Perhaps one of the circa 200 shops could serve the local schools by selling school uniforms?! Thousands of children on their doorsteps and not one pair of boys grey trousers on sale within 8 miles!!!! Now there’s a business opportunity that Waitrose wouldn’t affect. The retailers have to respond to the shoppers requirements and if not, then they only have themselves to blame for their demise.
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