The Department of Environment Transport and the Regions has overturned a planning consent granted by a Glasgow Council after MEPC raised objections to the decision.
East Renfrewshire Council granted consent for a 23,225 sq m (250,000 sq ft) IKEA superstore – the company’s first Scottish outlet – at a site in Renfrew, south Glasgow, last year against the advice of its own planners. But MEPC, which owns the Hillington Industrial Estate next door, immediately objected to the decision.
The developer claimed that the traffic generated by the store would have an adverse effect on its 85ha (210 acre) estate, which it bought from SPP subsidiary Caledonian Land in 1996.
Following a public enquiry held earlier this year, DETR has come out in MEPC’s favour and overturned the council’s decision. MEPC director Gavin Davidson said the company was “delighted. We went in to bat for all the tenants at Hillington who where alarmed at the prospect of long queues of traffic which would cause access problems. There are right places for an IKEA store but the edge of an industrial estate in not one of them.”
IKEA was unavailable to comment.
EGi News 03/07/98
