Happy Sainsburys!
Superb news covered on the Gurn about the new Sainsburys being approved by the Scottish Government!
A resounding triumph of common sense. 
It’s almost bizarre that when other small towns are actually fighting against supermarket development, that Nairn should be fighting for one.
However, the entire issue over Sainsburys had become something deeply psychological for Nairn:
- were we going to be treated as nothing more than a suburb of Inverness, and therefore expected to keep doing much of our shopping there?
- was Nairn really going to be forced to keep to a Local Plan set up in the days when John Major was Prime Minister, which kept the town attached to the ball and chain idea of a major town centre supermarket that has, so far, spectacularly back-fired on the town?
The decision to allow the Sainsburys brings with it a dangerous amount of hope – hope that Nairn can develop and grow in an intelligent way, that increasingly caters for the local and visiting population – independent of Inverness’s retail attractions.
Of course, even once built, we may yet find we wanted something bigger, or more varied, or even more retail potential for other national companies to come in – the Scottish government made a note of “retail leakage” but even the old Local Plan long recognised the big problem of “employment leakage” which forces a commuter town image on town for planning.
Whatever the practical reality, though, it’s a great result for the town, and feels like we can start the next decade on a positive note.
More coverage, details, and discussion of the news from the Gurn:
Sainsbury’s ‘a wonderful Christmas present for Nairn!’
Sainsbury’s Nairn just the start – more investment coming to the Highlands – The store could be open by next Christmas!
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