New Petitions

Thank you.

Thank you for allowing me to come and speak in support of the petition, convener. You said that the petition was hosted on the e-petition system between March and May. The reason for that is that Tesco changed the application, so objectors had only that short time to start objecting and picking up names for the petition. The situation has been on-going for a number of years. The petition relates to an area in Partick with which you might be familiar, convener. Given certain aspects of planning legislation, the petition should be taken forward, although that is up to the committee. Scottish planning policy 8 relates to how an application affects communities, shopping and the environment and SPP 17 relates to the traffic implications of a development.I am concerned that, to date, Glasgow City Council has not done any traffic impact assessment on the implications of the extra traffic that will result from this huge development, which will include not just shops but student accommodation. There will obviously be great traffic implications, as the site is in a very congested area of Patrick with no direct bus route. Buses go along Dumbarton Road, but they do not necessarily go down into Beith Street.Another cause of concern—for me and for the petitioners—is the lack of consultation between Tesco and local residents. At the moment, Partick is a thriving community with lots of shops that sell white goods as well as groceries. The proposed Tesco development will have huge implications because it aims to sell something like 40 per cent white goods and 60 per cent groceries. We believe that that will lead to the decimation of Dumbarton Road and other areas. There is already a huge Morrisons supermarket just along the road from the proposed development. Around the corner and up the road—in Byres Road—there is an Iceland, a Sainsbury's and a Marks and Spencer's.We feel that a traffic impact assessment should be done; I would like to hear more from Glasgow City Council about that. I do not know whether there are implications for the Government and for planning law, but I think that the issue is pertinent not just to Partick but to other areas. Without wanting to sound too bad towards Tesco, I am aware that some areas have been described as Tesco towns. I know that various committees have considered the issue previously, but I wanted to put forward my concerns, which are shared by the vast majority of the community in Patrick.I will leave it at that, convener.

Convener, I seek a point of clarification. Sandra White mentioned that there are a number of large retail outlets nearby, but she did not say whether any of those open all day. Do any of those outlets have 24-hour opening?

The store in Crow Road—just up from Dumbarton Road, where Crow Road leads into Anniesland—has 24-hour opening. The local residents have complained about being wakened at 4 and 5 in the morning. The store is not open for shopping 24 hours a day, but people are woken up at 4 and 5 in the morning because deliveries take place 24 hours a day. That store is just up the road from the proposed development. Also, the Asda store just over the river is open 24 hours a day.

A traffic impact assessment needs to be done. Clearly, there are issues with allowing such shopping developments to go ahead in a built-up residential area. I am sure that residents in many towns and cities throughout Scotland have similar complaints about the traffic impact, in particular of heavy goods traffic. As Sanda White indicated, if the level of white goods that will be sold in the outlet requires heavy goods vehicles to move through a built-up area 24 hours a day, that will have an impact on the amenity of the area for local residents.

Two issues are involved: out-of-town supermarkets that open 24 hours a day and supermarkets in built-up areas that also open 24 hours a day. The decision that is the subject of PE1058 has broader implications. I am not sure whether either the current planning guidelines or the provisions in the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 make a distinction between out-of-town supermarkets and those that are located in built-up areas.We should write to the Scottish Government to ask whether it is satisfied that the current planning guidelines and regulation, including those that will be put in place once the 2006 act is fully implemented, are sufficient to deal with the concerns that people are expressing about the location of 24-hour supermarkets in built-up areas. The two types of supermarket should not be treated equally under the planning framework, but that may be the case at the moment. A 24-hour supermarket may be acceptable in an out-of-town area, but it is not acceptable in a built-up area. As I said, I am not convinced that the planning framework gives local authorities the discretion that they need to make a distinction between the two. The broader issues involved mean that we should write to ministers, particularly given the possibility of similar future applications.I make no comment on the planning application or whether the authority owns the land; I simply voice my suspicion that the authority may find that its hands are tied in terms of rejecting the application. There may be no planning guidance that gives it comfort and support in that regard.