Retail giant set to win eight-year planning battle

Retail giant Next looks set to finally triumph in a eight-year planning battle in the south of Scotland.

It closed a town centre store in Dumfries in 2018 after the council refused an attempt to relax conditions in order to allow it to move to a retail park.

That case went as far as the Court of Session and was twice rejected by the Scottish government's planning and environmental appeals division.

However, a fresh bid to allow it to open on the town's Cuckoo Bridge Retail Park is now being recommended for approval.

Next had a store in Dumfries town centre for about 30 years but in 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council rejected an application which would have allowed it to move to the retail park.

The company argued that its turnover had fallen significantly and that a unit in the Loreburne Centre no longer suited its business model.

The local authority rejected proposals to move out of town saying it had not been shown there was no viable town centre alternative.

Next shut its doors the following year but continued the battle to open a new store - but that was ultimately rejected twice by the Scottish government.

A fresh bid was lodged recently to lift conditions restricting the types of goods allowed to be sold at the retail park in order to permit the firm to return to Dumfries.

This time the council has concluded that "suitable justification" has been given to drop the restrictions.

"The supporting information suggests that there are no appropriate sequentially preferable sites in the town centre and that any retail impact on the town centre would be negligible," a report said.

"This is a position that has been checked with an independent retail expert who agrees with the analysis and considers that the qualitative benefits associated with the proposal would be significant."

Planning committee councillors are being recommended to approve the scheme - with conditions - when they meet on 30 April.