Residents anger over Tesco's legal action against Macduff Aldi
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Residents in Macduff are fighting supermarket giant Tesco to stop them from taking legal action that could see plans for a new Aldi scrapped.
The discount supermarket received the go-ahead to build a new store on Duff Street last year.
But business rival Tesco served Aberdeenshire Council with a judicial review that will challenge the decision.
The matter will move to the Court of Session but should it end up in Tesco’s favour, the planning decision would be overturned putting the Aldi store at risk.
Aldi had hoped to open the £3.3 million store later this year.
But now angry Macduff locals have backed an online petition complaining to Tesco over the legal action.
So far more than 1200 people have signed up in support with the number ever increasing.
The petition was started by Ray Stephen, who said there was a “disenchantment” in the local area over the matter.
He said: “This is our community being denied an opportunity to have competition.
“They’ve already caused enormous damage to towns and cities all over the UK.
“In Macduff, we used to have six butchers and four bakers – now we just have one baker.
“We’ve lost an enormous amount of business, it has been taken out of the town.
“I’m not saying that Aldi is not going to take money out of the town because they will, but they are going to invest a lot of money.”
Mr Stephen said the new store would help to “bring people back” to Macduff.
He explained: “We travel off to Fraserburgh, Inverurie or Elgin to do our shopping now we have a car, but the people that are getting the worst deal are the less well-off.”
With the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Ray believes Aldi would be a huge help to people in Macduff and could alleviate pressure on the two local foodbanks that he says are being “run ragged”.
And he also said the new supermarket would bring jobs to the area that currently has a “lack” of employment opportunities.
Ray started the petition just three days ago and he has been surprised with the support it has received so far.
He said: “When it first started I thought I’d be lucky to get to 100, but it blew past and suddenly it was past 500.”
Ray hopes the petition will allow Tesco to “see the error of their ways” and added: “I can’t see what they’re gaining from it here”.
Those who have already signed the petition also have strong feelings about Tesco’s actions.
Phyllis Cruickshank said: “The people of Banff and Macduff deserve to have a choice of where they shop, especially with spiralling food prices.
“Families need to be able to feed their children healthily and fruit, vegetables and basic staple foods are cheaper in shops like Lidl.
“Why should only towns benefit from their prices or the people in Banff and Macduff be penalised for living in a rural community.”
While David Innes described the move as a “poor show” by Tesco.
He added: “It defies belief that Tesco should run down their Banff store over several years by their own doing and then legally object to a competitor trying to help residents of Banff and Macduff area at a very difficult economic time.”
