Dave Thompson MSP

Immediately following the announcement that Tesco were not proceeding with their new stores in Aviemore and Fort William, Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch received categorical assurance from Tesco that they were prepared to sell the sites to other food retail competitors.

As a result, Mr Thompson wrote to all of Tesco’s competitors and has recently had the first response back from Aldi.

It is great news that Aldi are at an advanced stage of negotiations in order to open a store in Fort William, but this does mean they have ruled out interest in the local Tesco site. However, what is interesting is what Aldi say about Aviemore.

It is clear from the letter Aldi believe that despite the rhetoric, Tesco will be reluctant to sell the site to a direct competitor, as this would lead to great commercial strain on their existing Aviemore store.

Tesco can only achieve this if the planning consent is changed from Food Retailing.

So, Mr Thompson is calling on the Cairngorm National Park Authority (CNPA) not to bow to pressure and to keep the planning consent the same.

Commenting on this, Mr Thompson said,

“I am calling on the CNPA to do the right thing by Aviemore and the local area by ensuring that this site is used, as has long been expected, for a new large food retailer”.

Dave went on,

“Supermarket chains will inevitably do what is best to suit their own financial objectives and it would be wrong to dictate to a supermarket who to sell to, but likewise, the planning permission over the Tesco sites should not be diluted to suit the whims of a large supermarket chain, especially given the length of time the area has waited for this essential development.

“I was also gratified to see that Aldi clearly have plans to develop a presence in the Strath, so come what may it seems they soon will be stepping into the breach”.

Notes:

Original letter to Aldi Stores Limited and other super market chains
Letter received from Aldi Stores Limited