Tenbury Futures is Consulted by the Local Media

Photographer with locals opposed to Tesco's Old Infirmary bulldozing plans.

Ludlow & Tenbury Advertiser asked us for our perspectives on the latest developments with the town's cattle market site. Here's the full unabridged response from us below.

1. Can you briefly outline for our readers your vision for the former cattle market site.

We ran a community questionnaire in March 2011 in which over 300 local and regional people fed back their preferences and ideas for the town's cattle market site. As part of our questions people could indicate their preferences for its redevelopment - including saying whether they'd prefer a large supermarket there. Over 200 of those who replied stated very clearly that they wished the site to benefit the town with both sensitive and sustainable development that broadly benefitted the community. There was a very clear rejection however of the idea of of using the whole site for one large supermarket 

On the back of this we researched and developed an outline set of plans that would best encompass these findings - which resulted in our PLAN B document that we published/distributed in July 2011. This document provides proactive suggestions in relation to the town that could enhance community facilities, tourism draw, local jobs, parking and highstreet vitality to name but some areas. Shortly after publishing, PLAN B received positive initial support from regional and national funding organisations - notably the Big Lottery Fund which then featured in their 'The Local' - a magazine about proactive communities.

2. How will you convince the owner of the site to work with you rather than Tesco or another major retail outlet? 

This is a tough one, of that there's no doubt. If Tesco's latest application is turned down again then we'd like to start to talk to a range of parties who could come together to look at alternate development of the site. There has been interest in the site from other developers during the time Tesco's latest application has been considered by Malvern Hills. As such, we'd hope that we could help facilitate a blended re-development of the site that met with support from both the owner, funding organisations and potentially other developers who might consider a much more blended use of the site.

3. How will you realise your vision financially and are you planning to buy the land?

We are primarily looking to work with the current owners and interested parties. We would think it unlikely that we would be able to take on and fund the whole project on our own account.

4. What do you fear will happen to Tenbury if the Tesco plan goes ahead?

Our fears are multiple really.. In particular we fear it would heighten highstreet slowdown in an already challenging financial climate. and reduce employment, as large supermarkets have a far lower employment density than small shops.

Exacerbating highstreet slow-down and lessening footfall:
Most of us have seen the way that large supermarkets have affected other market towns such as Llandrindod Wells in which the shopkeepers are wondering why none of their number objected to Tesco's plans there that have contributed to their highstreet slow-down. The Rhyl Journal article "Traders hold crisis talks as Tesco hit sales" discusses this and one trader told our group:

"In the first 3 months they [Tesco] have devastated the local high street to the tune of a 35% to 64% downturn... They are actively targeting the local Boots store [35% to 40% down] and the local Co-Op [formerly Somerfield 65% down]. Most other retail businesses are experiencing between 15% and 30% decline... some 4 months after Tesco opening. The biggest problem has been the reduction in footfall, people are using Tesco as a one-stop shop and not walking or even driving into the old town centre..."
Further details can be found on this story in the Rhyll Journal article of 15th Oct 2010 “Traders Hold Crisis Talks as Tesco Hits Sales”.

In addition, Tesco themselves say that over 60% of their shoppers will not go off into adjacent highstreets. Instead, it's more common to do a 'one stop shop' and get all shopping in one go. Once this shopping is in the car you're unlikely to leave it and go off down the high street. To further illustrate this you only need to to some basic research into adjacent highstreets and you'll find numerous references to businesses who simply can't compete with Tesco's corporate buying-power.

“We have reduced the price of the shop. We are definitely selling up... It’s [the local Tesco] devastated us as a business... We go and sit in the Tesco car park and watch all the customers who used to come in to us go in and out of there all the time.”
Julia Moore owner for 20 years of Moore’s Grocers in Madeley, Telford.  From “Every little helps, "Telford shopkeeper to throw in the towel", Shropshire Star, 21st Mar 2011

Little or no impact on unemployment numbers
It's unlikely that such a large Tesco would affect the long-term unemployment numbers in the town either, a report in the Cambrian News in 2010 [1] stated that after looking into 6x towns that had new Tesco stores that:

“The opening of supermarkets did not boost the labour market of any of the six towns sampled in terms of claimant count unemployment - despite hundreds of jobs being claimed to be created.”
Richard Stankiewicz of the Barnsley Council’s Spatial Analysis Team, Cambrian News, 3rd Mar, 2010.

Traffic Congestion
The area around the old Teme Bridge already suffers from congestion at specific times of the day. Additionally, most locals have witnessed large HGV's trying to pick their way across its unique bend while traffic backs-up. Despite recent ongoing works to strengthen the bridge it's simply not an effective traffic solution that will serve the Town well in any situation where the traffic is likely to increase. Instead, we're supporting the idea of a second [relief] bridge nearby downstream which could utilise the Cattle Market and bring people into the town there. For retailers and businesses on that site it could prove a real benefit while [via a managed one way system] relieving and helping future-proof traffic-flow to the town. Such a scheme could be looked into with contributions from the developer[s] via 's106 monies' as well as a pooling of both Shropshire and Worcestershire County Council's monies in this area. Without such a scheme, any development on the cattle market site -large or small- and subsequent potential traffic increases will probably exacerbate existing congestion causing more frustration and maybe even injury as desperate hauliers mount pavements to try to get through the bottleneck of the old Teme bridge.

5.  What do you say to those people living in Tenbury who have voiced their desire for a supermarket so they don’t have to drive to Leominster or Ludlow?

Locals seem to shop using multiple methods now with many combining a supermarket shop nearby with additional goods and foods from the town's highstreet. Additionally, some drive the 15 mins to Tesco or Aldi etc in Ludlow, some choose to drive over to Morrisons, Aldi etc in Leominster, some use Lidl at Stourport, others make use of the cheap online deliveries from Tesco etc. In addition, it's worth noting that the town already has three supermarkets already with Bowketts/Nisa, Spar and a Co-op within walkable distance of many in the town and Burford. So in essence we're well served anyway and many use existing supermarket deliveries. Add  to this that many work in outlying towns to Tenbury and who shop while there anyway and it’s not all that make special journeys to shop either.

6. What do you say to those who feel they can’t afford to shop entirely from independent retailers – how can Tenbury deliver an affordable weekly shop for them?

We would highlight again that there are shops locally who cater for a range of budgets, in addition, today's shoppers can [and very often do] make use of online shopping options and deliveries that are available to the town and surrounding area.

7.  Are you in contact with anti-Tesco campaigns in other parts of the county and do you see yourselves as part of a nationwide movement?

Yes, we're in contact with a number of other regional groups who oppose similar supermarket large developments. We're not sure whether you could say there's a 'national' movement as such but the campaigning website 'Tescopoly.com' estimates that there are over 400 similar anti supermarket campaigns now active in the UK [interestingly, mainly relating to Tesco]. It's clear that many thousands of people nationwide are more and more concerned at the power large supermarket chains wield and the negative effects their unchecked growth has on our highstreets.

8. Is there any way you would be prepared to work with Tesco or another major developer on an outlet which you would find more acceptable?

We've already been approached by other developers in relation to the cattle market site. Our perspective has been the same with each in that we'd meet with and listen to their plans and then we'd put them to a vote of the Tenbury Futures mailing list members. If the majority were in support of the ideas then we'd ask for further discussions to see if we could lend our support. The present [Tesco] application for the site just aims to build a very large supermarket. Broadly if there are other developers whose plans tally more with the findings of our community questionnaire [i.e. blended developments including smaller retail, re-use of key historic buildings etc] then we would be keen to look to see if we could lend our support.

9. Why can’t Tesco work for Tenbury in the way it has for Ludlow?

Has it worked in Ludlow and if so then by what measure? The reason it is now where it is on Corve St is that there was a campaign by locals there too against it which lasted for many years. They too feared negative impacts on their highstreet shops and today's location was very much regarded as the lesser of a couple of evils.. It's a false argument though - the idea of ‘in town’ or ‘out of town’ - to us they're both bad for the highstreet. It's a little like asking "what would you prefer to be eaten by - a lion or a crocodile?". There are some who might suggest that Ludlow's Tesco has helped the town thrive but in reality the two towns are very, very different with Ludlow having a vastly different demographic population to Tenbury [Ludlow’s main housing estate alone has more people than the whole population of Tenbury]. Additionally Ludlow thrives due to clever marketing as a rural ‘foodie’ capital which brings in visitors, tourism and associated monies. Ludlow also has its cattle market which additionally brings in people, money and passing trade.. In short they're very different entities. To compound that there is evidence that trade is polarising towards the Tesco end of Ludlow now that there is a clutch of supermarkets there. The Shropshire Star ran an article:“Town Suffering as Trade Evaporates”, in which:

Margaret Edwards, of EJ Poyners in Broad Street, said: “... terrible now. The trade is just finished up this [non Tesco] end of the town.”  Thu 13th May, 2010.

10. Do you think an independent supermarket is more suited to Tenbury?
We do have an independent supermarket already in the town but have no overt preferences as a group. One of our aims is to promote [and if possible to help facilitate] the blended use of the town's cattle market site. We accept that additional retail will need to play a part in this process but we're asking that it should be appropriate, sensitive and sustainable. This combination has been achieved in other towns so why not Tenbury? We believe this message is clearly re-enforced for the third time by the 600+ individual planning objections from local and regional residents to the latest Tesco scheme filed with Malvern Hills' planners.

Tenbury Futures, Jan, 2012

Fairplay? Highstreet Shopkeepers on Tesco

These are all genuine accounts from recent UK newspaper reports. Each features a quote from a small highstreet shopkeeper who either sees the writing on the wall or who are facing closure as a result of a Tesco store near them taking their customers or through Tesco undercutting them.

Shopkeeper 01

“We had lots of regular customers but we haven’t seen many of them for months - since the new [Tesco] store opened... We’re going to see if it picks up, but we are really worried we may have to close.”
Priti Patel, owner of Churwell Food Market for 16 years in Churwell, West Yorks. From “Churwell shopkeeper’s fears for future after Tesco opening”, Morley Observer & Advertiser, 13th Oct, 2011 Read more...

Shopkeeper 02

"Who’ll come and buy a pound of sausages from me when they’ve been to Tesco? It’ll kill us."
Melanie Fox, daughter of Derek the butcher whose family has traded for 200 years in Malton, Yorks [now threatened by a Tesco Superstore].

From Daily Mail article: ‘Don't let Tesco wreck my town says Selina Scott..’ 25th Nov, 2011
Read More...

Shopkeeper 03

“We have reduced the price of the shop. We are definitely selling up... It’s [the local Tesco] devastated us as a business... We go and sit in the Tesco car park and watch all the customers who used to come in to us go in and out of there all the time.”
Julia Moore owner for 20 years of Moore’s Grocers in Madeley, Telford.

From “Every little helps, "Telford shopkeeper to throw in the towel", Shropshire. Star, 21st Mar 2011
Read More...

There has been suggestion that a Tesco supermarket in Tenbury would "benefit Tenbury's shops"...  Is this the sort of "benefit" the town's food shops need?

Please Object to Tesco Demolishing Our Historic Infirmary Building

Tesco want to demolish the historic Old Infirmary building on the Cattle Market site [within the town's conservation area] to build a giant superstore. They then wish to add insult to injury and mark it's footprint as an outline in their potential car park and put up a large glossy graphical celebration of it and it's history alongside the town's workhouse on their potential big shop window.

Similar applications for demolition of the Old Infirmary [latterly Russell Baldwin & Bright building] were refused by Malvern Hills District Council earlier this year, and in 2010. The reasons given by the Council for the refusal were published as follows:

a. “Demolition of the building would be harmful to the character and appearance of the Tenbury Wells Conservation Area.” and
 
b. “The building is considered to be too important because it frames views into the former Cattle Market site from both Teme Street and the bridge over the river.”

c. “There is no satisfactory redevelopment scheme for the site that could mitigate against the loss of this important building, contrary to Policies CTC19 and CTC20 of the Worcestershire County Structure Plan, Policy QL8 of the Malvern Hills District Local Plan and guidance contained within PPS5 ‘Planning for the Historic Environment’.”

Councillor David Hughes, Portfolio Holder of Planning at the Council was quoted at the time as saying:

“The Russell Baldwin & Bright building is an important building within the Tenbury Wells Conservation Area and its demolition would be harmful to the special character of the area.”

Don't let Tesco do this - please join the growing list of planning objections and stop the needless destruction of one of the town's heritage buildings.

What do I do next if I want to object?
It's quick and easy..

• Please download one of the objection letters below,
• Print then print the letter out
• Then please sign and address it and then either send off to the Malvern Hills Council address marked on them or just drop them into Tenbury's Spar, Bowketts Supermarket or The Little Sweet Shop. 

We'll do the rest!

Supermarkets - Fair to Our Farmers?

The Church of England's Ethical Advisory Group's 2007 report "Fairtrade begins at Home: Supermarkets and The Effect on British Farming Livelyhoods" makes for interesting reading..

"This report makes it quite clear that the business practices of the major food retailers have placed considerable stress on the farming community through the use of methods which we believe to be unfair and of which consumers seem to be unaware. Farmers seem to be unwilling to complain or to expose these practices for fear that their produce may be boycotted by the major retailers."

"The low inflation which the British population has enjoyed for a number of years appears to have been generated, at least in part, at the expense of the livelihood and well-being of the farming community. We are moving towards a situation where we will be unable to be self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs, such as milk, and have to rely on imports which are produced on a cost basis which is not viable in the country.

The landscape and life of Britain are intimately related to the use which we make of the land. Although this has constantly changed over the centuries, we may soon find ourselves living in an age when herds and flocks are no longer seen, and in which virtually the whole population is totally disconnected from any contact with the production of the food which it eats. The link with the land, which is a powerful theme in theology, scripture and folk-lore, may well be lost and with it an essential part of our national heritage and identity."

From Foreword by The Bishop of Exeter, The Rt. Reverend Michael Langrish

[Click on the report's cover to download the full .pdf file - freely available online]

Selected additional quotes

"... the review identifies a number of invisible and pernicious practices that the consumer is largely unaware of, and which have been accepted by farmers as a fait accompli as part of the price of doing business."

"... these practices include labelling that obscures the country of origin of the primary ingredients of some products labelled as British but often only processed or packaged here; flexible contract terms that seldom work to the advantage of the farmer; flexible payment terms that, subject to arbitrary change, have often put farmers to increased cost and financial loss; facilitation payments; deductions and a range of financial inducements paid to the retailer or processor at the farmer’s expense. There is little evidence that retailers share the benefits of promotions with farmers, and much evidence that farmers, in the main, bear the costs."

"... we conclude that farmers do not seek special treatment, but a genuinely free market that is not skewed towards a few retailers with enormous buying power. There is visible inequality and dysfunction within the supply chain, which in our view requires attention."

"... Farmers are asking for no more than a fair price for a fair product which requires a connection to be made by the British consumer that fair trade begins at home with British produce, reared and farmed by British producers."

Additional quotes from Executive Summary pages 4 & 5.

Read more and download the full .pdf document.

Another Hundred Tesco Objections go to Malvern's Planners...

The latest tranche of Tesco planning objections.

Another 100 Tesco planning objections is about to wing it's way to Malvern Hills.. Participating shops taking in objections in Tenbury have reported a steady flow of planning objections coming in - both bespoke hand-written, bespoke word-processed as well as completed pro-forma objections as offered-up by Tenbury Futures.

One of the participating shops we spoke to today confirmed that in a just couple of weeks alone they had already received and passed-on over 300 individual Tesco planning objections to Malvern Hills planners. While we can't reveal individual names on the objections we can confirm that they are coming from all sections of local society - including parents of young families, the elderly and both residents and local businesses. Well here's another hundred for the pot [above] and there's still a number of weeks until the end of the consultancy period.

Even as we were taking these pictures today additional planning objections were still flowing in to the participating shops we spoke to. Yet again this is very clear evidence of the unerring strength of feeling within the local community against a large supermarket of this type on Tenbury's cattle market site.

We'd just like to take this moment to thank all those 100's of local people who have already made their feelings against Tesco's plans very clear again in written objections. We'll be monitoring the rest of the objections coming in and will report on them again at the point that they're no longer accepted by Malvern Hills Planners.

Remember too that Malvern will be accepting objections for a number of weeks yet [we now believe the cut off is Nov 2nd 2011]. You can still download our pre-written pro-forma objection letters from this site using the buttons at the top left of the site or just click these below:

Have WCC Done Their Bailey Bridge Homework?

Artist's impression of how a Bailey Bridge might look across the Teme.

Tenbury Futures have been double-checking some sums offered-up by Richard Attwood, Worcester County Council's Engineering Project Manager in charge of the Teme Bridge closure and works. Mr Attwood recently confirmed that the idea of a temporary supporting Bailey Bridge for the duration of the Teme bridge closure [a period of months] was effectively more than WCC were prepared to pay. Adding salt to the wound though, WCC have provided a full report explaining their logic with new bridge works in Evesham but not for our town. It would seem on the surface that Tenbury doesn't warrant the same treatment or attention to detail with 6 months of Teme bridge closure visited upon us as a  fait accompli.

Mr Richard Attwood said:

"I believe there is an assertion that a Bailey Bridge could be provided economically [across the River Teme] based upon the experiences of 2009 in Cumbria. The reality of this is that the Cumbrian site was more rural and the hinterland around was reasonably flat with a shallower river channel which made the provision much easier. Nevertheless, the cost I am led to believe was in the order of £4M..."

 Some Quick Homework...
And yet a quick check on Bailey Bridge suppliers reveals the company 'Beaver Bridges' based 40 minutes drive north of Tenbury in Church Stretton. We took the liberty of contacting Beaver Bridges and asked them for a quote on a temporary Bailey-type bridge of a length suitable for a Teme crossing. To our surprise, a Bailey Bridge of this scale cost a fraction of Mr Attwood's £4 million estimate. A bridge of this nature would not only provide vehicle access to the town while Teme bridge closure and works were ongoing but also provide full access to the town for fire engines based in Burford and alternatively full police cover for Burford.

In fact for a period of 7 months [much longer than Mr Attwood expects the Teme Bridge to be closed] the cost of installation, hire, maintenance and deconstruction was £210,000.

Extract from Beaver Bridges Quote, Monday Sept 5th 2011:

Required on site:..................... December 2011

1)      Specifications

a)      45.8m long x 4.2m Wide x 40/44te capacity modular bridge
b)      All steel construction c/w steel Durbar deck plate.
c)      Simple (non-compliant) pedestrian parapet restraints.
d)      Bridge unit weighs (undecked) –           39 tonnes
e)      Bridge unit weighs (decked) –               65 tonnes

2)      Financials

a)      Weekly Hire rate –       £5,550+VAT
b)      Transport to site -         £9,000 + VAT
c)      Erection on site –          £12,000 + VAT
d)      Dismantle on site –        £12,000 + VAT
e)      Return to depot –         £9,000 + VAT

3)      Client to provide

a)      Suitable crane to unload and install the bridge and to carry out the reverse operation
b)      Suitable access equipment – as necessary to carry out the bridge installation.

[We are awaiting an additional quote to cover these latter areas which we will add when one is sent].

Evesham's Temporary Bailey Bridge
Evesham is currently having similar issues with one of their bridges (note that their bridge, although a major route for the town, does not provide the only crossing of the river in the way that the Teme Bridge does for Tenbury).  There is a full report on the Worcestershire County Council website about the problems with the Evesham bridge, the options that have been considered, the pros and cons of each option, and information about consultation with the local community.  
 

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/transport-and-highways/transport-schemes/evesham-abbey-bridge.aspx
 

There is no such information concerning the Teme Bridge, and if any report exists it has not been made public. Indeed.. could it be said that there is no documentation for Tenbury because WCC hasn't really carried-out an effective consultation on this locally? Is there simply little or no content to create such a document? In terms of local shop keepers, all they have apparently had is questions and short conversations about deliveries AFTER the bridge closes. It would seem from the Tenbury Futures questionnaire in the previous post that discussion of what options are available to keep the high street as vibrant as possible during this closure - [or even whether the bridge needs to fully close as per the traffic lights and 7.5tonne weight limit on the 'A' road over the Holt Bridge] have clearly not been explored in consultation locally.
 

In summary:
Evesham gets a Bailey Bridge to ensure full traffic flow during it's bridge works and a full report justifying this work. Tenbury to date has been told the bridge closure will last for 'a number of months'. No exact figures have been provided and no report has been made public.
 
WCC claim:
Temporary Teme Bailey Bridge for 3 or so months to cost in the region of:
£4 Million

Tenbury Futures' Bailey Bridge Quote for 7 months:
£210,000

That's a difference of nearly £3.8 million pounds.

Come on Mr Attwood, please give Tenbury the time of day, we're taking this seriously even if you're not..
 

Tenbury Town Centre Shops Questionnaire

[Click graphic to enlarge]

There has been much discussion in the town about the merits of closing the Teme Bridge to traffic over the few weeks in which we've known about the plan. We thought we'd do a small questionnaire within the town's shops* to see what their opinions were about bridge closure and impending semi-closures due to potential public realm works. The majority results to the questions asked are shown above in the graphic.

[* 32 Shops polled, 2-3 shops didn't answer all questions].

QUESTIONS ASKED

1. Did the Council consult you before announcing that the bridge would close?
- The majority answer was that they felt they had not been effectively consulted before bridge closure was announced. A survey ascertaining the delivery needs of shops was done however after WCC had already announced they were to close the bridge.

2. Would the bridge closing affect your business?
- 100% said it would affect their business.

3. Rather than close the bridge, should they keep it open with a weight limit, while discussing future plans?
- Nearly 100% said that the bridge should be kept open albeit with a weight limit while the full range of options available was discussed with them.

4. [A] Should money be spent on strengthening the existing bridge so 44 tonne trucks can come through Tenbury, or [B] Should the money go towards a new bridge?
- The majority said that they would prefer the monies spent on the Teme Bridge to go towards a new bridge for the town.

5. Did the Council consult you before announcing that the pavements will be taken up?
- Nearly 100% said they had no consultation from the Council before this idea was announced.

6. If the pavements are to be taken up, and if the bridge is to close, should all the work be done at once?
- The majority felt that if various works were to be undertaken that these should be constrained so they worked together to cause minimum issues to Teme St traffic.

7. Do you support the loss of on street parking as part of the public realm works?

- Nearly 100% were not in favour of on street parking being removed from Teme St as part of any public realm scheme.

CONCLUSIONS & ACTIONS

There seems to be some pretty conclusive majorities of opinion demonstrated here. As such we believe that the Worcester County Council need to disclose and explain publicly:

1. What their exact figures, plans and timescales are for the Teme Bridge refurbishment scheme.

2. Explain exactly why alternatives to complete closure can't be actioned during any works. For example weight limits [as with the 'A' Road and bridge at Holt over the R.Severn] or traffic lights. 

3. Fully explain why the combination of the monies set aside for both the public realm works in the town and the existing Teme Bridge refurbishment [which must amount to many millions of pounds] couldn't be better employed in the construction of a new, more efficient Teme Bridge that would help ensure the future viability of the town.

WHO ARE TENBURY FUTURES?

Tenbury Futures’ sole objective is to help to ensure that Tenbury has a sustainable and vibrant future as a unique town in which people want to live and visit.

The group is made up of supporters of a range of ages, from parents with young children, to the retired, and from many walks of life.  We share a love of Tenbury and came together out of concern for a town that we value for its diversity and liveliness.   Our primary aim is to make sure that all options for the careful and sustainable development of the Cattle Market site are considered by providing a voice for local people.

We deliberately do not have leaders, spokesmen, committees, etc.  We are not developers, civil engineers or surveyors, nor, as some have assumed, are we fronting the local traders.  Like the traders, however, we are interested in the viability and success of Tenbury.  A vibrant town will bring in more visitors, enable more activities and businesses to thrive, and benefit everyone.

What is our purpose?

We have no fixed agenda of our own; instead our aim is to invite, collate and publicise options for the Cattle Market site by gathering together ideas from the people who should have the greatest say in these matters – the people of Tenbury. 

Our own influences are widespread, which tallies with our broad draw from the local community. Our supporters have interests in the idea of transition towns which can help rejuvenate town centres,  green technology and greening business, increasing tourism, highlighting and supporting the heritage of the town, and many, many others.

Where do our ideas come from?

To avoid possible 'nimbyism' we began in March 2011 by asking anyone and everyone in the town to let us know what they thought should happen to the site, making a feedback questionnaire available to everyone and allowing all opinions to be expressed. 

The outcome of that survey was a very clear desire in our respondents, who were overwhelmingly local, for the Cattle Market site to be developed in a sustainable and blended manner that would benefit our local community. The ballot was held fairly, transparently and accountably, and the results were displayed in town and on our website, where they are still available for all to see.  All of the returns were copied and sent in full to both Tenbury Town Council and Malvern Hills District Council.

We have taken those ideas and explored and illustrated them.  We have looked for precedents in other places, feasibility in Tenbury, and ways in which they might be funded.  As always, the illustrations and ideas were displayed in town, and are available to see on our website.

The variety of ideas we received was both fascinating and encouraging.  The overwhelming message is that Tenbury people value and care about their town and are prepared to devote time, thought and imagination to developing it in the best way possible.

Those who support a Tesco in the town have yet to canvas opinion - indeed, Tesco themselves have provided absolutely no verifiable evidence of their claim that there is a demand for their store in Tenbury.  Our feedback forms allowed and encouraged the expression of all ideas, and showed that about 11% of respondents were in favour of a supermarket of some sort (including much more modest proposals), while around 75% were strongly opposed to such a plan.

The new bridge concept is one of a number of ideas sent to us by concerned locals and our role has been to highlight this and other ideas locally via whatever means we could muster.  Despite some local pessimism, the concept is sufficiently viable to have received consideration at local authority level, indeed the costings are based directly on Herefordshire Council's and those of their bridge construction specialist, Halcrow.  No local body or council has admitted to the full repair costs of the current bridge, and it may well be that these are so great (and English Heritage's views on the resulting effects on a Scheduled Ancient Monument so strong) that the new bridge idea becomes a viable proposition.

Our Dearest Wish

Our dearest wish is to see Tenbury kept vibrant and independent and to show that, contrary to the words of one of MHDC's district councillors, there is indeed a considered 'Plan B' for the site.  Tenbury can do far better than allowing a Tesco supermarket to be built on the cattle market site.  Tenbury is worth the effort.

New Tesco Superstore Planning Documents Now 'Live' For Scrutiny

To alert you to the fact that the latest application by Tesco to build a superstore on the cattle market site in Tenbury is now 'live' online for your scrutiny. The store is an 'A1' class superstore - which means that it could easily include [or add at a future date without great issue] a pharmacy, post office and hardware/homewares on top of the large range of discounted food goods it will stock. This of course could potentially affect a large percentage of the remaining embattled shops in the town instead of just the food shops which we feared on the last application. If you wish to look available documents over then you can do so by undertaking the following:

1. Firstly go online and copy-in the following address to your browser:

http://e-access.malvernhills.gov.uk/eaccess/Applicationsearch.asp

This should take you to Malvern's Planning Application seach page.

2. The tap in the following reference for the new application in the 'Application Number' box: 11/00887/FUL

This is defined as: "Erection of Class A1 Food Store, Associated Car Parking, Open Space and Landscaping and Access Improvement Works" [They will have to apply separately again to try to demolish the Old Infirmary Building - which we'd expect at the 11th hour so that as few people could digest it and offer-up objections as possible].

This should then display a page titled: "Planning Application Summary", to look through documentation look on the left hand side of the page where you should see a set of blue links to follow-up/review.

3. These documents are also available at Tenbury Library for review as hardcopies too (where you can take photocopies for more in depth scrutiny if you wish). When we spoke with the duty planner there today she assured us that as she was posting the 'Planning Application' signs around and near the site today and that this will allow the required 21 days from today's date [16th August] for individuals and organisations to formally object in writing or e-mails to them. The likelyhood though as this is such a massive development that the process will be open more like 13 weeks.

4. Objection Letter Pro Formas
We're presently pouring through the documents ourselves in order that we get a full picture of the new application. In the first instance we'd encourage individuals to write to MHDC's planners themselves explaining their concerns and objections. We must be clear though in that only letters dealing with planning-related issues will be taken forward to formal objections [i.e. emotive or passionate requests that Tenbury be left alone will not be counted as a formal 'planning objection' (although we'd understand the temptation).

If this all seems a bit of a minefield of documents and forms then we'll soon upload a pro-forma objection letter addressing the salient concerns on the Tenbury Futures blog site [and we'll alert you that we've done so] that you can simply just print, sign and send or drop in to a local highstreet shop. This proved a very effective method of getting a large number [apparently over 800 people locally] to object formally in writing which had a very definite sway from such a small community on the last occasion.

5. And Finally
There is much discussion in the town about this potential Tesco taking over from Tesco's home delivery van operation that currently operates out of the Ludlow store. This may account for the fact that the proposed new Tenbury store [pop 3,500] is even bigger than the last. Needless to say, if this happens then the additional strain on town and bridge traffic would be tremendous on top of that we already forcast.

Tesco's are more than happy to change the use of their stores once they've been built and indeed did just that at Tetbury in the Cotswolds. They'd sold their plan to the town as creating a large number of shop floor retail jobs. Within months of opening though the Tetbury store closed much of it's floorspace and turned the rest over to warehousing which supported it's Tesco Home online catalog business. The consequence of course was that less staff were required on site and the staff were thinned-down to a small fraction of the original number with most of the remainder put on to short term or part time contracts. It does make one look at the new site's massive floorspace in an entirely new way..

References:
You may like to follow-up these references too if you're keen to learn a little more about the company who wishes to parachute in a superstore in the town [these just a sample - there are many, many more out there]:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/05/john-harris-fight-against-supermarkets

http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news8489610.Fewer_jobs_on_offer_at_Accrington_s_new_Tesco_store

http://www.tescopoly.org/

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/super_markets_corporate_bullies.pdf

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8687519/Tesco-caught-operating-two-tiered-pricing.html

http://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/94468/traders-hold-crisis-talks-as-tesco-hits-sales.aspx

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/03/food-miles-environment-impact

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1277180/Tesco-selling-asparagus-Peru--town-famous-producing-vegetable.html

Tenbury Futures' PLAN B

Thanks to all those who sent back People's Plan/Cattle Market development ideas for consideration & discussion on the Tenbury Futures blog. There were some great ideas returned and we didn't publish all of them on here but selected a few that we felt we could visualise and which would prompt further discussion. On the back of these ideas and along with the earlier 'Community Questionnaire' results, we've produced our vision of how we'd like to persue re-development of the Cattle Market site with our 'Plan B'.   

Central to this plan are the range of values that we possess within the Futures group - these include those of developing and enhancing facilities for the local community, improving Tenbury's tourism appeal and creating a sustainable, healthy and vibrant environment in the town for people to live, work and visit.

[Download "Plan B" as a multi-page .pdf file by clicking on the link below]

[Click to download PLAN B]

Mary Portas' New Review of High Streets

Mary has been asked by central government to do a review of our highstreets and look into what makes them vibrant places for people to shop and on the flip side the challenges to them [such as out of town and large supermarket competition].

You can see her website and the initial discussions on this [here].

Channel 4 Documentary on Tesco's Working Methods:

Tenbury Futures: The People's Plan - Your Designs Wanted..

Last month we successfully balloted the local community and visitors to the town on what they would like to see happen with Tenbury’s old Cattle Market site. Now via the People's Plan we’re inviting everyone to contribute to design ideas for the site [See 'Download' links top right of this site].

The initial Tenbury Futures survey* returned nearly 300 replies with some definite wants, some conclusive not-wants, and some ideas on which there were mixed views.

* You wanted:

Those in the survey's 300 replies mainly wanted the re-use of the old infirmary as a museum and tourist information centre, the construction of a riverside walk and café. Then came additional parking and an area to accommodate Tenbury’s many events, popular with locals and visitors – such as the unique mistletoe market, the apple fest, the food festival, the fair and the popular car boot sales. Also rated highly was improved and enlarged recycling facilities.

* You didn't want: 
There was very little support in the 300 replies for a single large retail supermarket development and the majority opted for ideas that would benefit the wider community. There were mixed views on small-scale retail or commercial development and on a hydro-electric micro-generation plant for the town.

The People's Plan:

Drawing skills:
There’s no need to be good at drawing though; what we want to see is your ideas and rough designs. Once the survey is complete (there is a closing date of 30 Jun 2011) we will collate the responses and look into having plans drawn up based on the most popular site layouts.

Community-wide feedback:
We’d like as many people to participate as possible and are hoping for feedback from individuals, schools, community groups, churches etc – in fact anyone who is interested in the future of Tenbury's Cattle Market site.

The plan:
We have drawn up a simple site plan [not to scale] for participants to complete [below] to get the ball rolling, the information is accompanied by some sketches of possible options – although these are only ideas to stimulate debate.


[Click image to enlarge]

Sample site plan

These ideas also potentially help generate a set of facilities that compliment Tenbury's existing ongoing developments [Regal Cinema etc] while helping to enhance both local community facilities and local tourism further.

Particularly significant could be a new or supporting venue for our unique mistletoe market, food fair or applefest while also providing a new outdoor performance space, riverside cafe and market site or designer-maker units/shops. The site may also provide a space for a new bespoke Community Centre too.

[Click image to enlarge]

Tenbury Cattle Market: Artist's Impression - Angle 01

Artist's Impression - Angle 02 [Some riverside trees omitted only for clarity].

Community Trust:
The development could potentially be created by a community-driven trust in the same way as Ludlow's successful Millenium Green re-development. Their trust has a long list of local members who both help raise monies and help with the running. In addition, they've raised thousands of pounds to assist with the re-development and secured grant monies to help fund ongoing work.

Returned Ideas:

These are some of the returned visual ideas that have been passed to the Futures group. 
[Click images to enlarge]

From Mr K, Tenbury Wells

Mr K whose points include that the RBB Building should be refurbished as the new location for the Tenbury Museum. Additionally, Mr K believes that the site could be used for a new social centre and large festival site.

From Mr R, St Michaels, Tenbury Wells

Mr R suggests that nr Durban in South Africa they created a riverside esplanade with a beautifully designed complex which housed all kinds of craft industries such as jewellers, artists, potters, booksellers, bars and restaurants - all selling cheap/reasonably priced services/products.

[Click image to enlarge]

Mr S, Tenbury Wells

Community boating on a raised pool
Mr S wanted to follow-up comments on the Tenbury Blog by creating a quick visual of an idea that had been raised some years back about a possible raised slow-moving stretch of water for a community boating area. The idea was apparently dismissed at the time [and this really is just an additional bolt-on idea - no formal funding ideas offered-up] when it was raised. But in the light of attracting additional tourism and monies to the town's local shops - this sort of idea could potentially assist. Much like Ludlow where [despite the Teme being SSSI] town council-run boats have been hired-out on the river by the popular car park underneath the castle. Not only could this be open to the public but it could be used by local clubs and societies for kayaking etc - for example, the local scouts, maybe Bockleton Hall outdoor persuits centre and Tenbury High School's outdoor club. In these days of uber health and safety though and people litigating at the drop of a hat this sort of an idea might be a hard sell - but it's an idea and ideas are the currency here.

Combined with micro hydro power generation
As a postscript though it could also be made to combine with micro hydro power generation at the weir end. This incorporation of micro hydro has already been given planning permission at an existing weir further down the River Teme  as well as the weir re-build ongoing upstream on the Teme at Bromfield - specifically to incorporate micro hydro electricity so there are clear precedents for this. The power generated [one of the areas where govt devt grants haven't been totally pulled] could power some or all of the Cattle Market development maybe. It could even generate some spare capacity to feed in to the national grid - at which point it could also help pay for itself too by receiving hydro electric feed-in tariffs.
[Click images to enlarge]

The weir being rebuilt at Bromfield on the River Teme
for hydro electric power generation [taken May 2011].

The public information board placed next to the weir re build.
It claims it will create enough consistent power to supply the equivalent
of 420 average homes.

"Your plan is very good"
Mr J, Tenbury Wells [from returned forms]

[Click image to enlarge]

Mr S, Orleton ~ Solar PV Panel Shadeports

Solar PV Shadeports
Mr S explains that the US has been using 'solar shadeports' for car parking since 2009 and that this sort of power generation scenario could be applied to the Cattle Market site [and/or any open car parks in the town] too. Although this is only a rough visual, solar arrays of the scale above could generate up 124272 kWhrs.per annum. There is a chance that finance towards development of this sort of scenario may be possible too. Using new technology it's even possible to get 240v 50Hz direct from these sorts of panels. With solar feed-in tariffs this sort of scenario could also either help additionally pay for itself or maybe even earn the site monies if a surplus to the local requirements were generated.

G.A. suggests a blend of 'Futures' ideas with a Superstore.

G.A. suggests keeping the RBB Building but allowing Tesco to build on the site - creating a mix of refs which may appeal to a broad range of Tenbury's residents. They suggest that the car park be made available by the supermarket to assist with local festivals, Mistletoe Sales and Carnivals etc too.


An Alternate Teme Bridge and Relief Rd.
[Click image to enlarge]

Suggested replacement bridge and relief road - Tenbury.

Possible Semi-Pedestrianised Teme St

Possible Teme St One Way Scheme and Semi-Pedestrianised Area
Allied to the New Relief Rd Idea

Possible Traffic Light Array: Crow Turning

Possible Traffic Light Array for Option A [Above]

As discussed on the Tenbury blog recently, the old Teme Bridge in Tenbury has been identified as needing substantial repair work to the tune of millions of pounds just to make it safe. The discussion suggested that as the old bridge was the 'lifeline of the town' and that we should really think about securing easy future access to the town as opposed to short term sticking plasters on the old bridge. To do so could be to divert the majority of those millions and put them towards a plan that better allowed Tenbury to flourish and grow into the future instead of constantly dealing with the bottleneck that is the old bridge. The idea being that the old Teme Bridge [which is a unique Scheduled Ancient Monument] would then have the stresses of increasing HGV usage, increasingly regular traffic jams due to the 'bend' in it and the resultant increases in structural problems on it removed as traffic transferred to an alternate modern crossing of the Teme.

Such a crossing and relief road would cost many more millions - that's clear. But maybe there comes a time when the local authorities need to take the long view and invest accordingly to secure the long term future of the town.

As a spin-off, the old bridge's use could be scaled-back so that it accommodates pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles only. This would make this end of the town much quieter and the combination of this, the picturesque river location and the unique bridge architecture could have a dramatic effect on local tourism. In fact it was mentioned on the blog that there might be similarities to the situation at 'Ironbridge' in terms of tourist draw [not that the Teme Bridge in Tenbury is quite in the same league but we understand it's one of only 2x SAM's which are bridges with curves in them in the UK].

The points on the rough drawing refer to: 

1. Burford Hospital. Pulling out of this blind corner can often mean risking an accident or worse at peak times with vehicles speeding towards the hospital largely out of view. Hence adding a roundabout here and a [raised] relief rd across the fields to a new bridge could serve a number of purposes.


2. The Old Teme Bridge. This could be 'retired' and actively help increase the town's tourism draw if a new bridge and relief rd were put in.


3. The Crow Hotel Turning. All traffic that passes over the present Teme bridge passes this way around the tight corner - often creating jams with longer HGVs. If the relief rd were plumbed-into the B4204 that comes into the back of the town from Rochford then it could [option A] be diverted to this junction where minor works and a traffic light system could enable a suitable traffic flow. The idea illustrated above using traffic lights may actually allow a wider swing/turning circle for HGV's than the present two way corner at the Crow Hotel.


Alternatively [option B], the traffic could initially come onto the B4204 and then via a new relied rd to the south join up to the Bromyard Rd near the 'S bends' near the business park. With the addition of minor works and a new mini roundabout at the junction of the Bromyard Rd this would take away from the town centre the mainstay of HGV traffic. On the theme of tourist attraction, Teme St could then potentially be semi-pedestrianised too [while still allowing access to the Cattle Market etc] - thus creating an airy and  attractive public realm space or more overt 'tourist zone'.


4. A New More Accessible Teme Bridge. This could be in one of various modern formats  - cantilever etc or strictly just governed by cost and utilitarian needs.

Some Videos For Your Consideration:

BBC Whistleblowers: Supermarkets

Channel 4: Supermarket Secrets

The End of Suburbia [Documentary Film]

The Story of Stuff

The Transition Movement

A New Town Square

Mr L, Burford, Tenbury

Mr L suggests a combination of new Town Square with central monument, space for market stalls, training allotments for local schools, parking and a new orchard.

New Central Plaza Celebrating Tenbury's History

Ms P, Burford Suggests a Central Plaza area.

Key to above concept.

Ms P from Burford says that the Tenbury has become very traffic orientated with no central focal point and increasingly busy routes through the town centre. The redevelopment of the former old cattle market provides a key focal area to encourage this and make the most of the River Teme and it's historic bridge.

A central walkway through the area linking all the components and river wlakway/plaza containing seating areas, uplighting and architectural plants would provide a mixture of hard and soft landscaping highlighting and creating key focal points within the site. Planting could compromise of raised timber planters containing Phormiums, Pampas Grass and other architectural species such as Yucca's and Stipa species [grasses].

Low lighting could be used to highlight key paths with surfacing compromising a mixture of slab paving, timber and gravel creating unique character to the the courtyards and site identity. 

Within the centre either a central water feature or monument/sculpture or art piece could be incorporated to reflect Tenbury's history or the site's former uses.

The site could almost become a gateway leading the tourist to some of the highlights and history of Tenbury such as the Pump Rooms, Regal Theatre and the Butter Market.