Sainsbury's banned from opening pharmacy (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Sainsbury's banned from opening pharmacy

9:06am Sunday 17th June 2007 in News By Chris Wickham

Sainsbury's has been denied the right to operate a pharmacy from its Hampton superstore after councillors decided it would threaten businesses in Hampton Hill.

The supermarket chain submitted an application to Richmond council to allow a pharmacy to operate inside the store and also to allow a serving hatch outside normal operating hours.

The store is currently allowed to open from 8.30am until 9pm on Monday to Wednesday, 8.30am until 10pm on Thursday and Friday, 8am until 8pm on Saturday and 9am until 6pm on Sundays.

Sainsbury's applied to remove a planning condition imposed in 1999, preventing it from selling prescriptive medicine from the site, and wanted to operate an in-store pharmacy and hatch system so it could dispense from 7am until 11pm on Monday to Friday and from 7am until 10pm on Saturdays.

Late last month, members of Richmond upon Thames council planning committee defied officers' recommendations to pass the plans and told Sainsbury's it could not open a pharmacy, pleasing many campaigners.

Vincent Cable, MP for Twickenham, had backed opponents of the plans, which included Hampton Hill Traders Association and local community pharmacies in Hampton Hill and Hospital Bridge Road shopping centres.

“This was an important victory for community pharmacists and our struggling town centres in the face of pressure from one of the two biggest supermarket chains.”

Vincent Cable, MP

Hampton Hill Traders Association, supported by the Hampton Hill Association, said the proposal would have a serious economic and social impact on Hampton Hill.

Dr Cable said it was up to local planners and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to act to prevent supermarkets driving out the community pharmacists together with the specialist services which they provide - like free home delivery.

He explained, under new rules, supermarkets could complete with local pharmacists provided they get the permission of both the council for planning permission and the PCT.

He said: "This was an important victory for community pharmacists and our struggling town centres in the face of pressure from one of the two biggest supermarket chains."

A Richmond council spokesman said the planning committee turned down the plans due to the impact it would have on Hampton Hill.

He said: "Members of the committee believed that allowing the supermarket to provide prescriptive medicine at an out-of-town site would threaten the businesses of existing chemists or pharmacies in Hampton Hill and result in a reduction of passing trade to nearby shops."

"Any proposal that would adversely affect the viability and vitality of this local centre is also contrary to policies set out in the borough's Unitary Development Plan."

A spokesman said it could not add much but said customers at the Uxbridge Road store told the company the number one service they would like to see at the store