Friday 20 August 2010

Tesco, determined to come to Tenbury

View of cattle market site from Teme Street
According to local press reports Tesco's are determined to open a store in Tenbury.

They are said to be in advanced discussion with planners and other statutory bodies and are expected to submit a revised plan by the end of the year.

Other commentators believe that Tesco's have an agreement with landowner Will Chase to submit an application within the next few weeks. If they fail to make the submission their existing "option" to develop will lapse.

The NoTenburyTesco campaign is keen to explore alternative uses for the site, but with Mr Chases recent divorce putting a rumored £16M dent in his finances he is bound to want to obtain maximum profit from the site.

A spokesperson for The Chamber of Trade, who decided not to officially object to the proposed development, have said that they had been misreported in the local press regarding their alleged approach to Tesco to invest in Tenbury's infrastructure.

54 comments:

Anonymous said...

tesco will come
all the anti tesco groups you have lost
concede you bunch of hyprocrics

Anonymous said...

You said that last time !! and what happened ?

Anonymous said...

The for Tesco group asked everyone to sign petitions in the local pubs .Guess what,they were to busy to send them in to MHDC .They really want Tesco dont they???

@WR15 said...

Petitions (for or against) aren't much use in planning terms. It's not if you want Tesco or not, it's all about whether their application meets certain criteria or not. The last application clearly didn't. Guess they won't make the same mistake twice!

Anonymous said...

TESCO WILL BEEN TENBURY BACK TO LIFE
the chamber of trade knows that
brendon harris you have lost

Brendon Hartis said...

DES just fr your info this is ny first message on this blog. Yea stop assuming that every anti tesco message on here is me. Because alot of people don't want it. Tesco won't cone because if they were they'd be here by now. And on the note on who won or lost no one has yet but he antis have 1 up on the for tesco.

Anonymous said...

I was looking for some info and was searching on Ask Jeeves for it. I visited each of the top ten pages that came up but didn’t get any relevant result... I then luckily found your diamond forum in the dirt and thought to check it out. This is what I wanted!

Cheers dudes at tenburywells.blogspot.com and keep your great effort up.

@WR15 said...

If you exclude the people (such as Brendon) who have a vested interest, and the people who just didn't like the original plan, I think on balance more people are either for Tesco coming to Tenbury, or don't mind either way. The anti Tesco numbers are a clear (if vocal) minority.

If Tesco submit a valid plan, then a store will be built.

Anonymous said...

Hundreds of letters objecting to Tesco coming ,a dozen or so for Tesco coming, are you sure we are the minority?

Anonymous said...

Yea but if I signed a petition WR15 I would expect it to be sent in. Not left on the pub counter.

Anonymous said...

Tesco are like a cuckoo. They start off small, then they wriggle and wriggle and wriggle, a little bit at a time, until they’re the only bird left in the nest. This is their modus operandi across the whole of the UK.

If you allow a Tesco store to get a foothold in your town, you can wave bye bye to the town’s beating heart and soul a few years down the line.

Anonymous said...

well put @wr15

@WR15 said...

Yes. I believe the "absolute" no Tesco are in the minority. (If you exclude the people who have a vested interest, or were coerced into putting their name to a standard letter by some one who has. People who didn't like the submitted plan. And people who don't care. If you read all the letter carefully and talk to people all around the area you may reach the same conclusion.

@WR15 said...

I get what you say about the petition, but as I pointed out it would have carried no weight in the proceedings had it have been submitted. It would have been interesting to see how many people signed it, but if it was only patrons of one or two establishments and not a genuine cross section of the community it would not tell us anything.

@WR15 said...

"Tesco are like a cuckoo. They start off small, then they wriggle and wriggle and wriggle, a little bit at a time, until they’re the only bird left in the nest. This is their modus operandi across the whole of the UK."

Sorry, but I have to disagree. Sure they often expand stores, but so do Morrisons etc. This is because people like what they sell and they are successful. Successful retailers will flourish alongside Tesco, lame ducks and incompetents will not (and they will probably fail anyway eventually)

@WR15 said...

"I think **@@&&#### should......"

I agree, but don't feel I can publish your comment.

Anonymous said...

People who signed the standard letter genuinely didn't want tesco. They was not forced to sign them. So there are more against than for. The objections show that. Also West Mercia objected and few other big organisations objected.

@WR15 said...

A few people told me they felt pressured into signing the standard letter. Even counting in the 'form letters' I still believe the numbers (of the general population) who object are less than those in favour or don't object.

If by West Mercia you mean the Police, yes they objected to one specific element of the design, not Tesco in general.

Anonymous said...

How were they pressured? No one held a knife to them making them sign. Everyone had their right to say no we don't want to. It was up to them.

@WR15 said...

There are degrees of coercion. Your example is rather extreme.

Anonymous said...

There should be no concern. No one would have been forced to sign the standard letter. If they signe it they honestly did want tesco. So the argument your saying is incorrect there are more against than for.

@WR15 said...

There are 51800 people living within 20 minutes drive of Tenbury. So I maintain that the majority either support Tesco's or don't mind either way.

Anonymous said...

How do you know? Have you knocked on every door and asked them all? The objection letter weigh out the for letter by far so there is your evidence.

@WR15 said...

People are far more likely to write if they object than if they approve. If they don't care either way, then they won't write at all. If you read the letters carefully, some of the ones you claim are against Tesco's are only against the particular plan. I therefore maintain my position.

Anonymous said...

Hang on a minute. If all these anti tesco people ARE in the majority and they all seem to profess to buy from the local shops, then why is it that so many shops seem to have closed lately. As a former councillor I was saddened to see closed and empty shops every few yards on a recent return visit to the town. Stop fighting over Tesco and just fight to keep Tenbury alive !

@WR15 said...

I think you need to do another return visit. One business has relocated. Four new shops have started up. There is another due to open soon, and another is due to relocate. Having said all that, Tenbury was as quiet as a grave this afternoon. Some of the shopkeepers were out on the pavement wondering where everyone was.

Phil said...

It's the height of the tourist season and what is there to attract tourists to Tenbury? No castle, no Safari Park, no steam railway, no craft centre, no National Trust property, no English Heritage property, no boats on the river, no seaside! The museum would interest some people but how many tourists know it is there, particularly this year, as the 'brown sign' vanished from the market square before Xmas. The swimming pool is badly marketed, the Pump Rooms would attract people if they were marketed as a tourist attraction but they aren't, no accommodation in Tenbury is listed on the official Worcestershire tourism website, there is no Worcestershire tourism brochure this year, the town brochure is so out of date it's misleading. If we want more people in Tenbury in August, we have to raise Tenbury's profile with tourists.

@WR15 said...

Well said Phil. Both MHDC & TTC talk about Tenbury as a Tourist destination and then do little or nothing about it. The Pump Rooms should never have been handed to the Town Council to (Mis)manage. There were plans for a new Tenbury brochure this year (I know because I proof read an early version) but heard nothing more. Even the TIC website is very out of date. Nearly all the shops featured are no longer here, or their appearance has changed. Even the toilets shown were destroyed several years ago and have been rebuilt. Other pages are very confusing especially the eat & drink page. There appears to be no mention of either the Blue Plaque or Art Trail. All in all very poor indeed.

Fireman24 said...

Yes, well said Phil, I think your comments and of those of @WR15 are spot on.

des jordan said...

after reading through the comments i see that mr harris is still thinking that i have been commenting well just for his information this is my first time of commenting i havent said anything on here before so please get your facts right before mensioning names please mr harris

The Moaner said...

Actually by the way the comments are wrote on here you can tell who is who Des as you NEVER USE CAPITALS

You posted the first reply and well you did use capitals on one occasion when you told me I have lost.

I bet if the blog owner checks the IP Addresses on all posts (If h is able to do he will find that the 3 posts (which includes the one where you put your name on it) comes from the same IP or even MAC Address.

des jordan said...

when youve finish acusing me with your false aligations Mr Harris you do need to get your facts right as slander isnt a good thing could get you into trouble

des jordan said...

well all i can say Mr Harris as a asistant manager of spar in tenbury you are very imature person thinking that i would waste my time commenting on here im not like you having to comment about people like what my daughter bought in spar from your iphone

Anonymous said...

Do you 2 need to get a room?!?!?!

And that ladies and gents is a perfect example of why those who don't care or do want a Tesco in town are keeping their heads below the parapet.

Still it's far more civilised in here then it was.on Facebook.

des jordan said...

No thanks i dont need a room i have no further coment as far as im concerned

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's fair for Spar staff to ask shoppers whether or not they want a Tesco to open in town. A relative of mine felt they were put in a very difficult position when this was asked of them in front of other shoppers and Spar workers.
On another note, you will never get as many people 'for' a plan to protest as you will 'against' a plan. The fight is just stronger when you're against something and feel out numbered.

@WR15 said...

You are not the first person who has mentioned this, which is why I think that a number of the (form) letter writers were coerced into lending their name to the No campaign.

The man in a van said...

As an outsider who used to visit Tenbury everyday with work. I'd be saddened to see Tesco move in to your town. Tesco's number one priority is not to improve Tenbury, but to make profit out of it.

This proposed store may not stock every that larger Tesco stores sells, but it will stock the stuff that's currently sold in Tenbury. If you want a loaf of bread you're only going to buy one and Tesco's job will be to ensure you but it from them rather than the baker up the road.

Currently, if want something from a specific shop, you'll be luck to get a parking place right outside that shop. Having in to park up the road means you walk down the street looking at what's on sale in the other shop and maybe even stopping a buying something you'd forgotten you needed. A Tesco's car park, with spaces for 94 cars will mean less people walking up the street visiting other shops. You won't be able to park in this car park and then walk up the street because you'll get fined by Tesco.

A Tesco store may, in the short term bring you lower prices, but once the opposition has been driven out of town it'll be a whole different story.

Think long and hard about this, once a store has been built it'll be a round for a very long time.

@Mr_GerorgB (Twitter Tag)

Anonymous said...

Well said man in a van. What I have been trying to say but sadly no one will listen as they only think bout their pockets.

Ian said...

The ‘Man in a van’ states that “Tesco's number one priority is not to improve Tenbury, but to make profit out of it”. Substitute the word ‘Tesco’ with the name of any other Tenbury retailer. Is the statement still true? If not, why not?

DaveC said...

Absolutely right Ian. As a Tenbury businessman I am in business to make money. I just happen to do it around Tenbury. And I do it by offering a service people need. That's what businesses do. The sooner people realise that businesses are there to make money for themselves the better. Tesco is no different to ANY other business in that respect.

Bumblebee said...

Wow, some feisty comments [to be expected I guess with this very emotive subject].

I'm concerned about the mention of degrees of coercion re signing the planning objections against Tesco in recent weeks though. If the refs to people feeling 'obliged' to sign them are true then this was certainly not the intention of the 'TesNO' campaign group and most probably down to the commitment/fervour of individual shops' staff against Tesco Devts.

Irrespective, when the planning objection letters were taken to MHDC [many of these bespoke and non pro-forma ones] they numbered about 500. Add those to the existing planning objection letters visible on the MHDC planning site at that time and I'm sure there were approaching 600 planning objections [or more] in total. These would have been from both a mix of concerned Tenbury residents, shopkeepers and people who lived nearby and relied on Tenbury for shopping.

If true [apparent coercion to sign] it's regrettable. I'm certainly not condoning such actions [again, if true] but surely still only a small fraction of those 600 or so objectors could be accounted for/affected by these [alleged] tactics?

To put those numbers into some kind of context, Machynlleth's recent successful anti Tesco devt objections numbered about 300 and that from only a slightly smaller population [approx 2150 in 2005]/pool of surrounding shoppers. I'd argue as a comparison that the number of objectors in Tenbury/surrounds are much more intensely/ardently 'against' a Tesco devt in town for the level of population here [approx 3320 in 2001].

Bumblebee said...

I note also that Tesco reps are schmoozing about Tenbury for the next couple of days on a charm offensive - clearly concerned that there's a public backlash to their plans. I guess this beats the methods it's used elsewhere though - coercion of locals [in Tetbury pre devt] and the recent fiasco with Tesco being found out writing/sending themselves false 'devt support' letters from supposed keen locals.

I'd be interesting also to see if they managed to come up some new 'spin' to counter all of the gaffs they made in earlier efforts too. I'm talking about the big porky about the number of potential 'jobs' they could bring Tenbury, their thin veneer of commitment to buying local goods [when any actually retailed will have done an obscene amount of food miles to be on that shelf - see Guardian article "From Here to Eternity" - Fri 3rd Sep 2010]. And I'd be interested to see how they'd counter the findings of the Govt's DETR 1998 study which [in one of it's findings] that local shops will lose between 13 and 50% of their existing trade if a supermarket is built in a small Market town.

Anonymous said...

Govt's DETR 1998 study - so last century! or is it more recent studies shine a more favourable light?

Bumblebee said...

I'm not aware of any more recent comparable/appropriate reports but if you'd like to suggest then I'll happily look them through if you say they contain evidence to the contrary [re % trade loss]..

What I do know though is that small shops all over the country are feeling the grip of Supermarkets tighten by the year though. I note that the London Assembly Jul 2010 report: "Cornered Shops: London's Small Shops & The Planning System" discusses the importance of local shops and keeping a diverse high street. So concerned are they that they recommend changes to planning law so that local Council's can better protect the diversity of the high street against the might of big retail devts such as Tesco.

Anonymous said...

Another Town who may have to suffer from the Tesco invasion.
----------------------------------
Too many heavy articulated lorry deliveries a week, from 6am to 11pm ALL WEEK.
Tesco say 2-4 lorries a day but evidence from other stores, including Tesco Express in Craddocks Parade, shows the number will be twice this i.e. over 50 lorries a week. There will be problems with very large lorries manoeuvring in and out of the loading area along very narrow road adjacent to The Curry House, onto the A24, blocking all traffic while they do so.
Tesco have already breach permitted delivery hours on Sundays and Bank Holidays at Craddocks Parade.
As you can see Craddocks parade shop is only a Tesco Express which would be a maximum 3,000sq ft ,the Tenbury store is 20,000 sq ft ,it doesn't take much working out how many lorries would be coming to Tenbury each day .One word 'CHAOS'

@WR15 said...

If so many people are opposed to Tesco in Tenbury, who will be buying all the stock that needs 50 deliveries a week?

Anonymous said...

If so many people shop out of town how come Bowketts ,Spar and Co-OP ALL SURVIVE ?

Bumblebee said...

I sympathise with [anonymous] ref impending road chaos..

My own experience is that a Ludlow Tesco employee has told me that any 'promises' Tesco make ref constraining deliveries to certain times/numbers are likely to be 'unreliable'. They did similar with the Tesco at Ludlow to local residents and yet [according to my source] 'lorries arrive at all hours.. and that's just the Tesco artics - never mind the security vans and the Wiseman's Dairy artics etc too'.

Our road infrastructure in Tenbury just can't effectively handle them. Let's not allow 'gridlock Tenbury' while we've still got a say in things.

The man in a van said...

Of course businesses in Tenbury are in it to make profit, but not to the extent that Tesco are. How many multi-nationals or even national companies are in Tenbury at the moment? Multi-national companies have a completely different mindset to local businesses. How many local stores currently run loss leaders? Tesco will do it every day of the year to get people in.

If you can't see the difference between the way local businesses and Tesco operate, then I fear for Tenbury, as well as the surrounding roads. People will travel from far and wide, on the free bus to visit this store and not the town.

Not living in the area, I'll not be affected whether a store is built or not. I just know people will look back in the future and say, why? And your reply will be?

Anonymous said...

and ask "why - did we put up with being overcharged for our groceries for so long"

Anonymous said...

I think the prices are reasonable in Tenbury. Better than it'll be after tesco close all competition then raise their prices to.

@WR15 said...

Tescos have a national pricing policy so that won't happen.

The prices are much higher in Tenbury, especially if you compare with own brand discount lines.

These may not be to everyone's taste, but are essential of you are on a tight budget.

Anonymous said...

It will happen do you have any evidence that shops the same sizes are te same prices or you just saying what tesco are telling you which is always lies