Angry reaction to Sainsbury's Llandeilo recommendation

Llandeilo businessman Simon Buckley has reacted angrily to the decision of Carmarthenshire Council planning officials to recommend approval for a new 25,000 sq ft Sainsbury's superstore in the town.
“It is just as we have feared all along in the battle to stop the destruction of one of the finest market towns in the country,” said Mr Buckley.
“It smacks of a total carve-up, with the council officers going against their own planning designation rules as laid down in the UDP Unitary Development Plan
“Regular followers of the monthly planning committee meetings will appreciate that councillors rarely go against the recommendations of their planning officers. I wonder how many of them take any other person's view into account, how many of the so called 'Independents' actually read the full documentation, and then vote with their conscience?
 “This is a controversial plan with huge impact for the town of Llandeilo, and the surrounding area. They will have been sold the story of job creation, but the truth is, that the opening of the store will close more businesses and lose more jobs than it will create. Everywhere a store of this size opens the net effect is significant job losses, the export of profits out of the locality, and a failure by the store to honour any of its job creation obligations.
“The planning process has been a long drawn out one, but we always suspected that was a case of simply allowing time to manipulate matters to come up with a favourable decision for Sainsbury’s.
“I am amazed at the recommendation, particularly as, in conversation with the local authority, it is clear that the land in question is designated for job creation as opposed to retail in the UDP.
“It makes a mockery of local democracy that the council can change the projected usage for land without any public consultation or prior advertisement.
“This whole process has opened up a can of worms.
“Yet again, Carmarthenshire County Council is hell-bent on making decisions that fly in the face of reality and public opinion and do not reflect the need for long-term local and sustainable jobs. There are viable alternatives, and jobs that will give local young people the opportunity to prosper in their own town and community.
“There will be a significant number of appeals to the planning application if this recommendation is approved on Thursday.
 “The development plan has been revised and the council planning files were not available for final review until four working days before the committee hearing.
“I suspect that as with all these things the council will have a paper trail to cover its decision.
“But that will not change the fact that my brewery site will be negatively affected by flooding.
“And increased traffic levels will cause major problems for us and for the distribution of beer to our main markets in south Wales.
“I wonder whether the councillors that will rubber-stamp this planning application will be re-elected in the forthcoming elections and whether they will live with the legacy of creating significant unemployment and social deprivation in our rural communities if they grant the application?
“No one will care other than those that will have to shut up shop and make people redundant because the behemoth that is Sainsbury’s has yet again closed another market town centre down.”
Mr Buckley added; “Significantly, both the local MP and AM have said the planned Sainsbury’s will drain the local economy and kill local trade.
Plaid MP Jonathan Edwards and AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas have urged Carmarthenshire Council to reject Sainsbury's application.
The council's planning committee is expected to consider the application for the site bordering the A40 road east of Llandeilo on Thursday, March 29, although previous dates for the decision had been held up, reportedly because of discussions between the county council and Welsh Government.