Tesco Give Up Lease On Palmerston Site

Supermarket firm Tesco is to hand back a former store site in south west Scotland to the local football club. A spokesman for the company said it was ready to end its lease agreement with Dumfries side Queen of the South and "gift" the premises back to them.

David Rae

The site has been sitting empty for a number of years but was still owned on a long lease by the supermarket firm. Club chairman David Rae said the deal was not yet official but hoped the land could be used to generate extra income. Tesco leased the site next to Palmerston Park and operated a store out of it for a number of years.

The store closed down when the company opened new premises at nearby Cuckoo Bridge in 2004. There were still many years left to run on the lease but it is understood both sides will now agree to end that deal.

"We have gifted it back to Queen of the South football club," said a Tesco spokesman. "They have aspirations to develop the site and in the next week or so it will no longer be in our ownership." He added that with one large store already in the town and another two also planned this location was now surplus to requirements. The Queen of the South chairman said the deal still had to be completely secured.

It is understood gate money alone will not sustain the club's future so Queens will be looking for a way to generate income way in excess of what has been earned from Tesco in the past. With the team going well at present this is great news all round for Queens fans.