Sainsbury's sets sights on Barnton

supermarket giant Sainsbury's is set to open a store in Barnton.

The Sainsbury's Local store will open in a parade of shops in Whitehouse Road in the summer. It will be the seventh of the convenience-style Sainsbury stores in the Capital.

However, the move has raised concerns from local residents, who say they are worried about traffic levels. Chairman of Cramond and Barnton Community Council, Andrew Mather, said residents were worried about the impact the store would have: "There are two issues. There's a Co-Op Scotmid already in Barnton and we fear that Sainsbury's will duplicate what they're doing and one of them will fold.

"The second issue is parking. Barnton is a very congested area and to add another shop must mean more congestion."

Jim Bishop, Sainsbury's regional acquisitions manager for Scotland, said he hoped the opening would boost trade in the area: "Our new Sainsbury's Local will complement the strong mix of shops and businesses and help to keep trade within the area. We're really looking forward to opening the store in the summer which will create up to 25 new full and part-time jobs and improve choice for shoppers," he said.

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman added: "We are aware of local concerns regarding traffic. These were dealt with as part of the planning process and there are conditions attached that restrict us to delivering outside of peak traffic times.

"We are confident that the car parking spaces provided are more than sufficient for the minority of our customers driving to the store."

Iain Mercer, group managing director of Almondale Investments, which owns the parade of shops, said: "It's great news for Barnton. Sainsbury's will not only be an excellent addition but will also improve an area which is blighted by the undeveloped condition of the former Barnton Hotel site."

The building, which was occupied by WH Smith until 2001, was more recently the headquarters of Bell Security. The redevelopment to turn it back into a shop will also see an open plan office created.