Inquiry reporter Mrs Jill Moody heard evidence from chartered town planner Philip Pritchett, for Tesco, that the Dundee and Angus structure plan, which guides development, had recognised the need for just one superstore in the west of the city.

It had been accepted by Scottish ministers when they last year upheld a planning appeal by Tesco against the refusal of determination by Dundee City Council that this need had been met by the B&Q consent.

However, Asda remain keen to develop a store of their own on council-owned land further west on South Road, a proposal that would net the local authority millions of pounds and to which Tesco has lodged an objection.

Mr Pritchett said, “A further store cannot now be in accordance with the structure plan and therefore it follows that any allocation of another site for a store of this nature in the local plan review will not be in accordance with the structure plan.”

The council, Mr Pritchett said, considered the B&Q property to be too small to meet the needs of the 40,000 residents in the west of the city. He said Tesco would be willing to develop a new superstore contained largely within the existing B&Q curtilage.

This, he said, would not require the annexing of greenfield space upon which the Asda proposal depends.

National planning policy, Mr Pritchett continued, said planning decisions should favour the most sustainable option.

He added, “The most sustainable option in providing new superstore facilities in the west of Dundee is to reuse the B&Q site for the purposes for which it was designed — retail.”

National policy also seeks to “protect and enhance the land and water resources required for the nation’s sport and physical recreation” and that “councils should lead by example and generally resist development of open space or playing fields in their ownership”.

The witness said Tesco’s objection to the Asda proposal was that the superstore need in the west could be met by Tesco on the B&Q site without the requirement for greenfield land.

Although the Scottish Sports Council had not objected to the need to relocate sports facilities to accommodate an Asda store, that was before they knew of Tesco’s proposal for the B&Q store.

He said he had seen no evidence from the council as to whether or not the SSC had been asked to update their views in light of Tesco’s plans.

Mr Pritchett submitted photographs of the sports facilities that would be lost if an Asda store went ahead and said there was no reason these could not be upgraded by the council.

Under cross-examination by Mr Ralph Smith, representing Asda, it was suggested a Tesco store on South Road would have a more detrimental effect on existing Tesco stores at Kingsway West, Lochee and Riverside than on competitors’ stores.

Mr Smith suggested this could act as a “disincentive” for Tesco to develop the B&Q premises as promised.

Mr Pritchett replied, “Absolutely not. There are 40,000 people in that area who don’t have a local store and we would be serving them.”

Mr Pritchett said it was Tesco’s intention to keep their Lochee store open until at least 2008 in accordance with an agreement reached with the city council.

Questioned by Mrs Moody, he said that, once the Tesco store on South Road was trading, it would be a commercial decision for Asda whether or not to proceed with their new store to the west.

The inquiry continues.

* Objections to a proposed major residential development of 130 houses in the Baldragon area of Dundee were considered at a public inquiry into the Finalised Dundee Local Plan Review today, writes Brian Allison.

The inquiry is being carried out simultaneously at two venues — Tayside House and Dundee Contemporary Arts — by Scottish Executive Reporters Robert Maslin and Jill Moody.

At today’s session at Tayside House, chaired by Mr Maslin, written submissions were presented by several Baldragon residents objecting to the proposals.

Among the concerns were the layout of the houses, access to the development, erosion of greenfield areas and overshadowing of Baldragon Farmhouse.

Questions were also raised about the need for facilities, including schools, children’s play park, a football pitch, shops and traffic calming measures.

In response, the city council said the local plan is required to allocate land in accordance with the Dundee and Angus Structure Plan, which includes a limited quantity of greenfield land release for housing.

“The Baldragon allocation complies with the structure plan requirements and forms an important contribution to meeting the greenfield targets,” the council said.

“There are no other potential greenfield or brownfield sites in this sector of the city which could offer an equivalent alternative.”

In response to a question by Mr Maslin, council represent-ative Stephen Page said there is capacity for both secondary and primary education at Baldragon Academy and Brackens Primary School.

On the provision of shops and recreational facilities, the council said the detailed design of any future development would be subject to consideration when a planning application is submitted to the city council.

The council would not expect stand alone traffic calming measures to be introduced at Baldragon, but would require that the road layout be designed in a manner which encourages slow speeds, safe driving and safe pedestrian conditions.

As for Baldragon Farmhouse, the council said it was sympathetic to the objector’s concerns and had addressed them in the local plan.

The inquiry continues.