Asda has been accused of acting like an "arrogant bully" in a Scottish town, just months after it used a new store to launch a loyalty scheme to encourage customers to shop with other local businesses.
Its retrospective planning application to sell non food has been rejected by Aberdeenshire Council after it began selling electrical items when its Huntly store opened on 15 May.
A condition of the original planning permission was that it would not sell non food lines, such as TVs, DVDs or household appliances. However, a spokesman for Asda said it was common for planning applications to be changed as stores were being built. "99% of the time it is never an issue. An independent planning consultant for the council even said there was no clear benefit in restricting the types of non food Asda can sell," he added.
But the Huntly Business Association branded Asda an "arrogant bully" for assuming it could go ahead and increase comparative floor space for non food to 30%. Asda said it would sell what it still had on shelves and could launch an appeal.
The store is the first Asda to trial a collect-and-save scheme, which offers customers a discount voucher on George when they spend £25 at Asda and £25 at any local participating store.?
Its retrospective planning application to sell non food has been rejected by Aberdeenshire Council after it began selling electrical items when its Huntly store opened on 15 May.
A condition of the original planning permission was that it would not sell non food lines, such as TVs, DVDs or household appliances. However, a spokesman for Asda said it was common for planning applications to be changed as stores were being built. "99% of the time it is never an issue. An independent planning consultant for the council even said there was no clear benefit in restricting the types of non food Asda can sell," he added.
But the Huntly Business Association branded Asda an "arrogant bully" for assuming it could go ahead and increase comparative floor space for non food to 30%. Asda said it would sell what it still had on shelves and could launch an appeal.
The store is the first Asda to trial a collect-and-save scheme, which offers customers a discount voucher on George when they spend £25 at Asda and £25 at any local participating store.?
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