MLAs in clash over planning policies

EAST Antrim MLAs are at loggerheads over the Costcutter store closure.

Ulster Unionist Assemblyman Roy Beggs Jnr threw down the gauntlet as he recalled that DUP MP and Finance Minister Sammy Wilson had “loudly claimed the credit for bringing ASDA to Larne” and asking: “Is he now going to take equal responsibility for the closure of Costcutter?”

Mr Wilson claimed his adversary lacked “a basic grip of economics” and accused him of exploiting the issue “to score party political points”.

Mr Beggs described the Costcutter closure as a “terrible shock” and called it a “timely reminder that in the food retail sector, jobs are often displaced, rather than new jobs being created”.

He said most people had welcomed the additional choice ASDA brought to Larne, but he added: “Whilst Larne retailing will have gained some of the customers who would have travelled outside Larne for their weekly shop, undoubtedly it would also have attracted some customers from other local retailers, such as Costcutters.

“Competition gives a greater choice to customers and normally forces retailers to reduce their prices and is good for customers. However, as we have discovered in the case of Costcutters, a new supermarket can simply result in the loss of other retail jobs.”

Mr Beggs added: “There is a particular danger with supermarkets being established outside the town centre boundary, as this can weaken the town centre retail core and so endanger a range of shops within the town centre. The experience of Costcutter 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.”

The MLA reflected that PPS 5, which governs the location of new supermarkets, was issued in 1996 and was “woefully out of date”. The replacement policy, issued for consultation in July, 2006, had yet to be finalised.

The draft document proposes a sequential approach to development and a requires a test in the identification of suitable sites for major retail proposals.

“In short,” said Mr Beggs, “it was a town-centre-first policy. Yet, four years after it was published it remains in draft form and is not official policy. This is a scandalous situation which I have repeatedly raised at Stormont.

“Questions need to be answered by successive DUP Ministers for the Environment, who have been in charge of the Planning Service since 2007.

“Our MP (Sammy Wilson), who was previously the minister in charge of planning, loudly claimed the credit for bringing ASDA to Larne and boasted about it in his election literature. But is he now going to take equal responsibility for the closure of Costcutter and the pressures that are mounting on other shops within Larne town centre?” he asked.

“Those who actively supported supermarket development outside the town centre, and not even on the edge of the defined town centre, must answer for themselves,” said Mr Beggs.

Asked to comment, Mr Wilson replied: “There are many reasons why small businesses find themselves in difficulty and it is disappointing to hear that Roy Beggs does not seem to understand basic economic principles.

“As income falls, people have less money to spend and this is what we have seen happening since the start of the recession. It is no coincidence that ASDA (where some staff have been laid off), the Highways and Costcutter have all been hit by the current recession, as people have less money to spend and so businesses have and are suffering as a result of this.”

Mr Wilson added: “What is even more disappointing is that we have here a public representative who is using this situation to try to score party political points, but all that he is actually doing is demonstrating that he lacks a basic grasp of economics.

“He is also showing his ignorance in relation to current planning policy. 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

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

The MP concluded: “It is truly amazing that an MLA who was a member of the DoE scrutiny committee at Stormont has such a high level of ignorance on this matter and so my advice to Mr Beggs is: instead of pontificating, he should better acquaint himself with planning policy and put an end to these misinformed comments.”