Llandeilo businessman Simon Buckley has accused Carmarthenshire Council of being hell-bent on making a decision which flies in the face of public opinion when it discusses the controversial planning application for a new Sainsbury’s in the town.
The long-running planning application for a 25,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s will be heard on Thursday (March 29).
Mr Buckley said: “I have discussed the matter with a senior planning officer and it seems likely to me that Carmarthenshire County Council is likely to abuse its own rules on planning designation (as set out in the UDP Unitary Development Plan).
“I was amazed that, in the conversation with the local authority, it became clear that the land in question (which is designated for job creation as opposed to retail in the UDP) can have its use changed without any public consultation or prior advertisement.
“This whole process is opening up a can of worms.
“Yet again, Carmarthenshire County Council is hell-bent on making decisions that fly in the face of reality and public opinion and do not reflect the need for long-term local and sustainable jobs.
“There will be a significant number of appeals to the planning application if this is allowed to happen.
“The whole planning process has led to incredible unease in the local community.
“The development plan has been revised and the council planning files were not available for final review until four working days before the committee hearing.
“I suspect that as with all these things the council will have a paper trail to cover its decision.
“But that will not change the fact that my brewery site will be negatively affected by flooding.
“And increased traffic levels will cause major problems for us and for the distribution of beer to our main markets in south Wales.
“I wonder whether the councillors that will decide this planning application will be re-elected in the forthcoming elections and whether they will live with the legacy of creating significant unemployment and social deprivation in our rural communities if they grant the application?
“No one will care other than those that will have to shut up shop and make people redundant because the behemoth that is Sainsbury’s has yet again closed another market town centre down.”
The local MP and AM have said the planned Sainsbury’s will drain the local economy and kill local trade.
Plaid MP Jonathan Edwards and AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas have urged Carmarthenshire Council to reject Sainsbury’s application.
“A supermarket of this size will be a drain on the local economy, forcing local businesses to cease trading,” Mr Edwards said.
“Instead of cash circulating locally, it will be exported to larger cities.”
He added that Plaid was “as a matter of principle against the development of supermarkets in our small rural towns.”
The council’s planning committee is expected to consider the application for the site bordering the A40 road east of Llandeilo on Thursday, March 29, although previous dates for the decision had been held up, reportedly because of discussions between the county council and Welsh Government.
The community group Save Llandeilo’s Future has said that it fears a fall in employment.
It said small shops would be unable to compete with a migration of profits out of the area and a decaying town centre.
Graham Wilson, Sainsbury’s development surveyor, said: “We look forward to the planning application being heard by the council and hope for a positive result, which would allow us to create up to 250 full and part time jobs while helping people live well for less.”
