Hopes end for Sainsbury's Exeter depot

A blow for the burgeoning town of Cranbrook, and Devon in general today, as supermarket giant Sainsbury’s confirmed a turnaround on plans to build a new distribution centre there.

Despite having had planning permission for the 500,000 sq ft depot near the Skypark development and Exeter Airport since 2011, and considerable investment going into preparing the site, a statement released today said that building would not go ahead. 

Vince Prior, the Head of Property Investment for Sainsbury’s said that a review had “concluded that there is no immediate requirement for a depot at this location at this time.”, leaving residents to question what had changed over two years of preparations. He went on to remark that there “could be future demand for a depot in this location”, and that Sainsbury’s would “ review our options” and “update the local community once the review is complete.”

East Devon District Council leader Paul Diviani said that he was “disappointed but not downhearted”, despite the fact that Sainsbury’s’ investment in the area represented 450 new jobs, around 10% of the total of new jobs expected to be created in the area. However, the move was described by regional economist Kevin Butler as a “setback, but not a disaster”.

For Cranbrook’s residents, it may be more worrying. The Sainsbury’s depot was to be built as part of the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point, incorporating science and business parks, and a freight terminal along with the swathes of newly built homes in the expanding Devon town.

The turnaround comes on the back of demands made in October last year by East Devon District Council for the supermarket to either sell the site or to resume work on it. A source in the council at the time was quoted as saying that the area was "too important for the area's economy to be left dormant". In a meeting with the council, Sainsbury’s’ promised that they were going to make a decision on the area by March this year.

David Mills, the Head of Property Communications for Sainsbury’s said at the time that there was a “review of the options about how best to use the space on the site”, including “potential to bring forward development on the rear portion”. Considering the recent developments, it seems that there may have been little intent behind these promises.

It remains to be seen whether the loss of the depot will affect further investment in the site, or whether anything will be taking its place on the now vacant area. Certainly the residents of Devon, and particularly Cranbrook, will be keen to see that further promises for developments can be set in stone, or at least that a few bricks can be laid.