Anti-supermarket group consider legal challenge

A campaign group says it is now looking into a judicial review of last Wednesday’s decision by county planners to give the go-ahead to a new Sainsbury’s supermarket in Llangollen.

Keep Llangollen Special (KLS), which opposes the foodstore being built on the site of the Dobson & Crowther envelope factory off the A5, was left bitterly disappointed by Denbighshire planning committee’s decision to back the plan and a related application to build a replacement factory for Dobson & Crowther – the town’s largest employer – on open land at nearby Cilmedw Farm.

KLS had pinned its hopes on the Welsh Government “calling in” the two applications for a public inquiry to be held into them.

But the group learned on Thursday this was not now likely to be the case.

KLS chair Mike Edwards said: “We are now looking at a judicial review through a prominent organisation because both Denbighshire County Council (DCC) and the Welsh Government (WG) have ignored their own policies.

“The report prepared for DCC by consultants Roger Tym & Partners is fatally flawed in that it, amongst other things, fails to assess the impact of the opening of  Tesco in Cefn Mawr earlier this year and the opening of Stan's in late February.

“We are therefore exploring legal challenges.”

Mr Edwards added:  “If our remaining course of actions fail we will only be left with the knowledge that ‘we told you so’ when Llangollen has lost its butchers, greengrocers, delis and cafes and has empty shops along Castle Street and becomes a clone town like others in the UK.

“This is no consolation to us, but no doubt the electorate will remember this at the next elections for Denbighshire councillors and Senedd members.

“We would like to place on record our thanks to Councillor Rhys Hughes for his attempts to have the applications refused.

“Denbighshire councillors failed to support the local member, which is normal in these circumstances."

 

* Mike Edwards, chair of KLS.