Llangollen Threatened by Tesco too..

Llangollen in Wales is also being threatened by Tesco's never-ending desire to grow their corporate mega-business and make more and more money from the demise of our small town highstreets and independent shops. 

Tesco are trying everything they can in every place they can.. Tenbury is just another notch on the bedpost as far as Tesco are concerned. If it doesn't happen in Tenbury then they'll try anywhere else they can and use anything within their power to try to make it happen using such standard excuses as "but it's what the people want" [when in Tenbury and surrounds many hundreds of people have said NO time after time to the plan via planning objections to MHDC].

Interestingly the video above starts with a hint at the very real discussions ongoing in the UK parliament about Tesco's ruthless expansion tactics. It's clearly something that's now on government agendas as well as how to keep our small town highstreets vibrant.

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

Merry Christmas from the Tenbury Futures Team...

Just a quick mail to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Tenbury Futures team. We especially want to thank the many 100's of local and regional individuals who have joined us in objecting to Tesco's plans on the town's Cattle Market site.

Here's hoping too that 2012 will bring a set of solutions to the town's Cattle Market site that best serve a whole range of our local and regional communities. You can be assured that we'll still campaign for a blended development solution to the Cattle Market site as the majority vote [over 200 of the 300 returns] in our 'community questionnaire' concluded in early 2011. 

A quick reminder of some of our key findings:

The majority view from the questionnaire was
to re-use the Old Infirmary/RBB Building.

The majority vote was that survey participants didn't want
a solely large supermarket solution to the site.

Other local issues we're interested in...

We'll also still encourage debate around this and other related subjects such as the Teme Bridge, traffic and parking as the new year progresses. Even now there's a new idea that we support to add a single track bridge across the Teme discussed in the Christmas edition of the Teme Valley Times. In this new idea the old Teme Bridge is kept in use but only for one-way traffic exiting the town while a new single-track bridge near the Burford fire station acts as the main way 'in' to the town. 

[Click to enlarge this image]

The proposed new single lane bridge featured in the latest Teme Valley Times.

Once again, thanks to those many 100's of people for their support in our campaigns - it's all very much appreciated by us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - we hope that 2012 will be a vibrant, sustainable and prosperous year for the town.

The Tenbury Futures team. 

P.S. You can comment on this post by clicking the 'comments' link below or why not mail us on our e-mail: tenburyfutures@gmail.com

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?

"Don't Let Tesco Wreck My Town.." Selina Scott, Malton, Yorkshire

 

From the Daily Mail, 25th November, 2011

'Plans have been submitted to Ryedale District Council for a supersized supermarket covering the area of a football pitch to be built in the heart of Malton, on the site of the town’s car park.

Residents are unequivocal in their condemnation, certain it will destroy the fragile balance of local shops and community spirit that has been the hallmark of this special little town since the middle ages. Like many other market towns in Britain, locals are banding together to try to stop the developer, Leeds-based firm GMI Holbeck Land, obtaining planning permission.'

And

'It is not as though Malton, with a population of just 4,000, doesn’t have a supermarket. It has three. 

But if a 50,000 sq ft store gets the go-ahead then the hundred or so small shopkeepers who are already struggling will be driven out.'

"Who’ll come and buy a pound of sausages from me when they’ve been to Tesco? It’ll kill us."

Melanie Fox, the daughter of Derek the butcher — whose family has traded here [Malton] for 200 years.

'Malton is the latest town to attempt to resist the power and money of the supermarket chains which steamroller over local sensibilities. From the Herefordshire town of Ledbury to the Welsh market town of Machynlleth and Scotland’s Castle Douglas, local people have manned the barricades.'

Read more in the original article...

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.