Blame game begins

THE blame game began in earnest in Larne this week following the closure of two local businesses.

Costcutter, at Point Street, stopped trading on Thursday, with the loss of 40 jobs. And the next day a fence was erected around the site of the Highways Hotel and a message posted on the long-established hostelry’s website, which read: “It is with great regret that we must announce that the Highways Hotel has ceased trading and is closed until further notice.”

Both closures came as a shock, even in the current dire economic climate, but it is the demise of Larne man John Murray’s two-year-old town centre Costcutter supermarket that has caused the bigger furore.

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Mr Murray and the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) issued a statement in which they claimed the failure of the business was directly related to the opening of the ASDA store at Redlands in June.

Mr Murray said: “Unfortunately, I was left with little choice but to close my business as I simply could not compete on a level playing field with the out-of-town ASDA store.”

NIIRTA chief executive Glyn Roberts added: “I am absolutely appalled that this small business, that contributed so much to Larne town centre and which also hosted a counter for a local butcher, has had to close because of a bad planning decision.”

Larne Traders’ Forum weighed in with a blast at Larne Borough Council, demanding that the local authority should now halt the planned 5.1 million sale of Inver Park to Tesco for another edge-of-town development. The business body also had a pop at elected representatives for what it regards as a failure to block the ASDA development at the planning stage.

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Chairman John Shannon said out-of-town retailing had hit Larne hard.

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“Up to now,” he added, “everything has been about opinions, but jobs losses amount to hard facts and it’s happening right now.”

The mayor, Cllr Andy Wilson, has urged that complaints about planning decisions and policy be directed to the Department of the Environment and the Assembly because, he pointed out, the local authority has no real powers.

Cllr Wilson said: “A new planning policy statement (PPS 5) was issued for consultation four years ago by the DoE. Larne Council was consulted for its opinion and strongly endorsed the stronger provisions for a town-centre-first approach to supermarket site selection. Why this policy remains in draft form is something Stormont should address.”

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UUP Assemblyman Roy Beggs Jnr urged: “The experience of Costcutters in Larne must be a lesson for the Planning Service as it considers a number of applications for other supermarket developments outside the Larne town centre boundary.”

And he set out to put DUP MP Sammy Wilson on the spot, claiming that the former Environment Minister had “loudly claimed the credit for bringing ASDA to Larne”. Mr Beggs asked: “But is he now going to take equal responsibility for the closure of Costcutters and the pressures that are mounting on other shops within Larne town centre?”

Mr Wilson argued that he believed both the Highways and Costcutters had fallen victim to the recession and claimed that Mr Beggs “does not seem to understand basic economic principle”.

Mr Wilson added: “The new planning policy that Roy Beggs refers to is already being used as a guide by the planners and the ASDA site was not, as he claims, an out-of-town site, but actually an edge-of-town site and this is the reason why it got the go-ahead

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“The sequential approach of which he talks is already in place and a retail impact assessment was carried out before planning permission was granted.”

John Shannon, meanwhile, described both the recent business closures as “sad news for Larne”. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Larne, which held its meetings in the hotel which derived much of its clientele through its proximity to the harbour. The Curran Court Hotel at Redlands, which opened last year, effectively assumed the mantle of nearest hostelry to the Port of Larne and it is thought that may have contributed to the demise of the Highways.

“The Highways has been part of Larne for longer than I can remember and it is very sad to see it closed,” said Mr Shannon.

The hotel owners, Banbridge-based Bann Retail and Leisure, failed to respond to our request for comment.

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The Highways website invites anyone who had bookings or reservations to correspond by e-mail. It is known that the organisers of at least two large functions have had to seek out alternative premises in the past week: a memorial fundraiser planned in honour of the late Graeme Nixon and scheduled to take place next month has been put off until October 16 and will be held in the Ballygally Castle Hotel; and Olderfleet Larne Liverpool Supporters’ Club’s annual dinner dance, with guest Ian St John, will be held in the St John’s Masonic Club on Saturday, August 7.

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