Tesco - Every little hurts
Keith Parkins | 18.08.2006 16:33 | Analysis | Globalisation | Social Struggles | London
In Scunthorpe, planning officials out shopping at their local Tesco noticed that the floor space alloted to comparison goods (white goods, electrical goods, DVDs etc) was much larger than for which planning consent had been granted. Tesco was forced to submit a retrospective planning application, meanwhile continued to trade illegally. The matter eventually went to a Public Inquiry. Tesco won.
In Stockport, Tesco had planning consent for a 9,000 square foot superstore, they constructed an 11,000 square foot store, some 20% bigger than they had planning consent for. In a reply to a local resident Tesco said this was normal. To a parliamentary committee of inquiry they said they did not know how it could have happened
In the Wirral, Tesco breached restrictions on out-of-hours deliveries, on the maximum size of delivery lorries. There were four more breaches of planning conditions.
Breaches of planning conditions on deliveries is not restricted to Tesco. In Farnborough in Hampshire, Asda has regularly flouted restrictions on nighttime deliveries. The council turns a blind eye. As a sop to Asda, the council allows on a temporary basis, delivery to the front of the store. In order that the problem did not arise again, a new superstore planned for the centre of town (according to St Modwen front company KPI, a Sainsbury's superstore), there will be no planning restrictions on deliveries.
In Guildford, the local council granted planning consent to Tesco for 24-hour opening. It was not what the council wanted, and certainly not what local residents wanted. The council caved in because they did not have the stomach for a long protracted fight with Tesco.
At Gerrards Cross, construction of a new Tesco caused a tunnel to collapse across a busy railway line. Debris from the site (thousands of tonnes of incinerator waste) has been illegally dumped in the leafy Buckinghamshire countryside where it is visible from the Chiltern footpaths. One year on, and the slag heap is still there.
In the small Norfolk market town of Sherringham, it was learnt that Tesco had entered into a secret agreement with the council to restrict any other supermarket chain operating in the town and that the local council would support Tesco in any future proposals. This agreement was not known to councillors, all officials who were party to the decision have conveniently left the council. Tesco have admitted they have similar agreements with other councils.
Tesco does not have it all its own way. Local residents at Saxmundham said no to Tesco, and for once a local community was backed by its local council. As a result of what may be a temporary reprieve, local retailers are seeing a renaissance, people come from miles around to visit the quality stores. The town centre has also managed to buck the national trend of small independent stores closing down.
At Upton Park in the East End of London, market traders and local people have managed to see off proposals by property speculator St Modwen to destroy the century old Queen's Market for an unwanted Ada superstore. 12,000 people signed a petition to say no. It now remains to be seen what will happen next. Will St Modwen, with the help of the local mayor, find another supermarket chain?
It does not have to be so. We do not have to have as in Aldershot where an edge-of-town Tesco superstore has destroyed the town centre, that and the gutting of the town centre for an unwanted shopping mall and poor planning decisions by the local authority (all mention of which was censored out of the Wipedia article on Aldershot by a wikithug), or in Farnborough, where the same local authority has colluded with St Modwen front-company KPI to destroy the town centre for a proposed Sainsbury's superstore.
Alton, a small, relatively unspoilt market town in Hampshire, has managed to retain its character and many of its local shops. North Laine in Brighton with its maze of narrow streets and myriad little shops and restaurants is a major attraction of the town. Upton Park in the East End of London still has its market and a diverse range of shops in Green Street.
As local people in Saxmundham and Upton Park have shown, it is possible to say no, to see off the threat from property speculators and supermarket chains and maintain a vibrant local economy.
Stop Press: Wal-Mart (US owners of Asda) have recorded a record 27% drop in profit, have been forced to pull out of Germany, and the rumour in the City is that Wal-Mart is desperate to find a buyer for Asda as it has not performed as well as expected.
Web
http://www.tescopoly.org/
http://www.friendsofqueensmarket.org.uk/
http://www.neweconomics.org/
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/
http://www.foe.co.uk/
http://www.farmersmarkets.net/
http://www.theecologist.org/boxscheme
http://www.farm.org.uk/
Reference
Angela Balakrishnan, Asda pulls out, The Guardian, 17 June 2006
Paul Brown, Secret deals with Tesco cast shadow over town, The Guardian, 22 January 2004
Ben Farmer, Grocers prosper in town that saw off Tesco, Daily Mail, 26 June 2006
Markets create twice as many jobs as supermarkets and food is half the price, New Economic Foundation, 22 May 2006
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/marketsvssupermarkets220506.aspx
Members kept in dark over pact, BBC News on-line, 21 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5101590.stm
Keith Parkins, Farnborough town centre highway closures, UK Indymedia, 20 April 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/04/338621.html?c=on
Keith Parkins, Tesco post record profits, UK Indymedia, 2 May 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/339526.html
Keith Parkins, Wikipedia censorship, UK Indymedia, 11 May 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/340273.html
Keith Parkins, Wikipedia Brighton page embroiled in controversy, UK Indymedia South Coast, 5 August 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/southcoast/2006/08/346947.html
Keith Parkins, Alton, August 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/alton.htm
Keith Parkins, Brighton, August 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/sussex/brighton.htm
Keith Parkins, The Regeneration Game, to be published
Rail tunnel collapse line opens, BBC News On-line, 20 August 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4169016.stm
Nic Rigby, Ombudsman examines 'Tesco pact', BBC News on-line, 17 May 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/4991926.stm
Nic Rigby, Officer signed secret Tesco pact, BBC News on-line, 6 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5053240.stm
Nic Rigby, Cabinet gets report on Tesco pact, BBC News on-line, 12 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5069608.stm
Tesco 'breaching planning laws', BBC News On-line, 18 August 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5261844.stm
Tunnel collapse causes rail chaos, BBC News On-line, 1 July 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4639671.stm
John Waite, Face the Facts, BBC Radio 4, 18 August 2006 {repeated 9pm Sunday 20 August 2006}
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/facethefacts/
Harry Wallop, Asda backs out of East End site after protest, The Telegraph, 17 June 2006
In Stockport, Tesco had planning consent for a 9,000 square foot superstore, they constructed an 11,000 square foot store, some 20% bigger than they had planning consent for. In a reply to a local resident Tesco said this was normal. To a parliamentary committee of inquiry they said they did not know how it could have happened
In the Wirral, Tesco breached restrictions on out-of-hours deliveries, on the maximum size of delivery lorries. There were four more breaches of planning conditions.
Breaches of planning conditions on deliveries is not restricted to Tesco. In Farnborough in Hampshire, Asda has regularly flouted restrictions on nighttime deliveries. The council turns a blind eye. As a sop to Asda, the council allows on a temporary basis, delivery to the front of the store. In order that the problem did not arise again, a new superstore planned for the centre of town (according to St Modwen front company KPI, a Sainsbury's superstore), there will be no planning restrictions on deliveries.
In Guildford, the local council granted planning consent to Tesco for 24-hour opening. It was not what the council wanted, and certainly not what local residents wanted. The council caved in because they did not have the stomach for a long protracted fight with Tesco.
At Gerrards Cross, construction of a new Tesco caused a tunnel to collapse across a busy railway line. Debris from the site (thousands of tonnes of incinerator waste) has been illegally dumped in the leafy Buckinghamshire countryside where it is visible from the Chiltern footpaths. One year on, and the slag heap is still there.
In the small Norfolk market town of Sherringham, it was learnt that Tesco had entered into a secret agreement with the council to restrict any other supermarket chain operating in the town and that the local council would support Tesco in any future proposals. This agreement was not known to councillors, all officials who were party to the decision have conveniently left the council. Tesco have admitted they have similar agreements with other councils.
Tesco does not have it all its own way. Local residents at Saxmundham said no to Tesco, and for once a local community was backed by its local council. As a result of what may be a temporary reprieve, local retailers are seeing a renaissance, people come from miles around to visit the quality stores. The town centre has also managed to buck the national trend of small independent stores closing down.
At Upton Park in the East End of London, market traders and local people have managed to see off proposals by property speculator St Modwen to destroy the century old Queen's Market for an unwanted Ada superstore. 12,000 people signed a petition to say no. It now remains to be seen what will happen next. Will St Modwen, with the help of the local mayor, find another supermarket chain?
It does not have to be so. We do not have to have as in Aldershot where an edge-of-town Tesco superstore has destroyed the town centre, that and the gutting of the town centre for an unwanted shopping mall and poor planning decisions by the local authority (all mention of which was censored out of the Wipedia article on Aldershot by a wikithug), or in Farnborough, where the same local authority has colluded with St Modwen front-company KPI to destroy the town centre for a proposed Sainsbury's superstore.
Alton, a small, relatively unspoilt market town in Hampshire, has managed to retain its character and many of its local shops. North Laine in Brighton with its maze of narrow streets and myriad little shops and restaurants is a major attraction of the town. Upton Park in the East End of London still has its market and a diverse range of shops in Green Street.
As local people in Saxmundham and Upton Park have shown, it is possible to say no, to see off the threat from property speculators and supermarket chains and maintain a vibrant local economy.
Stop Press: Wal-Mart (US owners of Asda) have recorded a record 27% drop in profit, have been forced to pull out of Germany, and the rumour in the City is that Wal-Mart is desperate to find a buyer for Asda as it has not performed as well as expected.
Web
http://www.tescopoly.org/ http://www.friendsofqueensmarket.org.uk/ http://www.neweconomics.org/ http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/ http://www.foe.co.uk/ http://www.farmersmarkets.net/ http://www.theecologist.org/boxscheme http://www.farm.org.uk/ Reference
Angela Balakrishnan, Asda pulls out, The Guardian, 17 June 2006
Paul Brown, Secret deals with Tesco cast shadow over town, The Guardian, 22 January 2004
Ben Farmer, Grocers prosper in town that saw off Tesco, Daily Mail, 26 June 2006
Markets create twice as many jobs as supermarkets and food is half the price, New Economic Foundation, 22 May 2006
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/marketsvssupermarkets220506.aspx Members kept in dark over pact, BBC News on-line, 21 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5101590.stm Keith Parkins, Farnborough town centre highway closures, UK Indymedia, 20 April 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/04/338621.html?c=on Keith Parkins, Tesco post record profits, UK Indymedia, 2 May 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/339526.html Keith Parkins, Wikipedia censorship, UK Indymedia, 11 May 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/340273.html Keith Parkins, Wikipedia Brighton page embroiled in controversy, UK Indymedia South Coast, 5 August 2006
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/southcoast/2006/08/346947.html Keith Parkins, Alton, August 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/alton.htm Keith Parkins, Brighton, August 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/sussex/brighton.htm Keith Parkins, The Regeneration Game, to be published
Rail tunnel collapse line opens, BBC News On-line, 20 August 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4169016.stm Nic Rigby, Ombudsman examines 'Tesco pact', BBC News on-line, 17 May 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/4991926.stm Nic Rigby, Officer signed secret Tesco pact, BBC News on-line, 6 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5053240.stm Nic Rigby, Cabinet gets report on Tesco pact, BBC News on-line, 12 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/5069608.stm Tesco 'breaching planning laws', BBC News On-line, 18 August 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5261844.stm Tunnel collapse causes rail chaos, BBC News On-line, 1 July 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4639671.stm John Waite, Face the Facts, BBC Radio 4, 18 August 2006 {repeated 9pm Sunday 20 August 2006}
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/facethefacts/ Harry Wallop, Asda backs out of East End site after protest, The Telegraph, 17 June 2006
Keith Parkins
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