After four years of trying, Swedish furniture giant IKEA is set to get the green light for its first superstore in Scotland following the Edinburgh council’s decision to withdraw objections to its £30m development plans for a site on the outskirts of the city.
Edinburgh withdrew its opposition to the store once Midlothian council – the local planning authority – agreed to enforce stricter conditions on IKEA’s plans. Edinburgh council was concerned with the store’s impact on trading and traffic congestion in the city centre.
A spokeswoman for Midlothian confirmed that Edinburgh had withdrawn its opposition to plans for the 18,580 sq m (200,000 sq ft) store on the A701 at Straiton, near Loanhead, and that IKEA should be granted planning permission in August. “It is expected that the council’s regulatory services committee will grant full planning permission to the development by the end of the month,” she told EGi.
IKEA has been looking at sites in Scotland for up to four years and recently suffered a set-back when Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar rejected its plans for a store in Hillington, Glasgow. Its nearest store to Scotland is in Gateshead and, according to local reports, up to 15,000 Scots cross the border every week to shop there.
EGi News 12/08/98
