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Argos and New Look coming to town

STRANRAER'S Bellevilla House will be demolished to make way for a million-pound retail site, if the new owners get the go-ahead.

And high street favourites Argos and New Look fashion are now being lined up to fill the 15,000 square foot retail development.

The new owners of Bellevilla at Portrodie in the town are Glasgow--based property developers Palisade Properties.

They finally beat off a rival bid from fast food giants McDonald's last week, after councillors had originally delayed a decision on who the property would go to.

The "Free Press" understands that Palisade will pay £250,000 for the site, outbidding McDonald's by around £35,000.

Palisade director Paul Doherty confirmed that his company now own the site, adding that planning permission must be sought before any further moves can be made.

Mr Doherty quoted a consultants' report which said the arrival of Argos and New Look would lead to 53 full-time jobs in Stranraer, adding

"We have still to finalise our deals with them but they are pretty keen to come to the town".

He said that his company would now be looking to finalise their planning application which would include a proposal to demolish Bellevilla and replace it with a quality development including car-parking and landscaping.

The "Free Press" understands that former old-folks' home Bellevilla was at one point a listed building but is no longer listed.

Mr Doherty added

"We will finalise our planning application and then it is into the hands of the council. We will work with them, if they have concerns, to sort these out".

Councillors based their decision to opt for the Palisade bid on three main reasons.

Firstly, Palisade indicated they would use local construction workers whereas McDonald's tend to use prefabricated structures; secondly, Palisade's bid offered higher full-time equivalent employment levels and, thirdly, the Glasgow company bid more cash for the site.