I have also written to the Aberdeenshire Council telling them about the campaign and going on to say:-

As I understand it, when Tesco’s were talking with the Aberdeenshire Council recently they stressed the fact that if they were allowed to go ahead with building a supermarket in Banchory, it would be an ‘Eco-Store’; and that they would follow the procedure of keeping plastic bags under the counter, as they had done in North Berwick.

However, when I was talking with Jennifer Duncan, Tesco’s Corporate Affairs Manager, in the Douglas Arms in Banchory, she said that there had been no commitment to keeping plastic bags under the counter and that it had only been mentioned as something that they ‘might possibly do’.

As Conveynor of BbC I believe it would completely undermine our campaign if Tesco’s did not do its utmost to persuade customers to use reusable bags for their supermarket shopping and, I believe, that keeping single-use plastic carrier bags out-of-sight and making customers ask for them is the best way to do this.

I would, therefore, urge the Council to ensure that part of the conditions for allowing the development to go ahead is a written commitment to taking this action.

If any Banchory readers have similar concerns I ask them to contact the council in the next few days. It can be done on line by going to http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/contact/online.asp.