SAINSBURY’S has confirmed that it has signed up to move into Narberth as part of the new retail and housing development proposed for the site of the town’s former primary school.

The supermarket giant intends to site one of its Local convenience stores in a 1,650 square foot unit.

And amid complaints of a lack of consultation over the proposals for the landmark - and now neglected - site at the entrance to the Townsmoor car park, it has agreed to talk to local people about its plans.

Jessica Butler, acquisition surveyor at Sainsbury’s , told the Western Telegraph on Monday: “We’re happy to announce that during November we formally exchanged contracts to open a local store as part of the proposed Narberth Primary School redevelopment.

“A Sainsbury’s Local in Narberth would provide 25 new jobs and an additional convenient place for people to shop.

“In our experience, a Sainsbury’s Local increases footfall which benefits surrounding shops as well. We will be sharing more details of our store with local Narberth residents and community organisations in the new year.”

The planning application, by Abbeymore Estates and Knox & Wells Limited, was submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council last month. The plan is for demolition of the old school and the construction of a two-storey building, with retail units on the ground floor and residential apartments above.

No date has been set for it to come before the authority’s planning committee.

The community umbrella group, Narberth Future Forum, has suggested that the lack of consultation could possibly open the way for the plan to be the subject of a judicial review.

In a letter to the county council, it has raised a number of concerns, including parking and that the ‘current independent mix of quality retail shops’ in Narberth did not appear to be complemented by the planning proposals of a café, baker’s, hot food outlet, nursery, betting shop and Sainsbury’s.

Labour’s prospective Assembly candidate, Marc Tierney, who attended the recent Future Forum meeting, is also concerned that the terms for occupation of the retail units would be too high to enable a local independent trader to move into one.

He added: “I think it’s really important that the developers meet to hear the views of the local community, and am disappointed that opportunities to showcase the development appear to have been cancelled.

“The plan is significant to the town, especially since the old primary school is now an eyesore, in such a prominent position.”

Mr Tierney added that people did not seem clear about whether Pembrokeshire County Council was driving forward any sort of economic plan to create vibrant town centre.

“The carbon copy high street has suffered considerably since the economic downturn, so there must be the vision to create a network of complementary town centres across the county, that meet local needs and can attract tourists too.

“The onus is on Pembrokeshire County Council and the developers - in the case of Narberth - to demonstrate that this plan is the right one, and the current economic,transport and environmental impact assessments have been undertaken.”