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.
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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
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Members kept in dark over pact, BBC News on-line, 21 June 2006
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Keith Parkins, Farnborough town centre highway closures, UK Indymedia, 20 April 2006
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Keith Parkins, Tesco post record profits, UK Indymedia, 2 May 2006
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Keith Parkins, Wikipedia censorship, UK Indymedia, 11 May 2006
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Keith Parkins, Wikipedia Brighton page embroiled in controversy, UK Indymedia South Coast, 5 August 2006
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Keith Parkins, Alton, August 2006
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Keith Parkins, Brighton, August 2006
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Keith Parkins, The Regeneration Game, to be published
Rail tunnel collapse line opens, BBC News On-line, 20 August 2005
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Nic Rigby, Ombudsman examines 'Tesco pact', BBC News on-line, 17 May 2006
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Nic Rigby, Officer signed secret Tesco pact, BBC News on-line, 6 June 2006
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Nic Rigby, Cabinet gets report on Tesco pact, BBC News on-line, 12 June 2006
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Tesco 'breaching planning laws', BBC News On-line, 18 August 2006
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Tunnel collapse causes rail chaos, BBC News On-line, 1 July 2005
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John Waite, Face the Facts, BBC Radio 4, 18 August 2006 {repeated 9pm Sunday 20 August 2006}
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Harry Wallop, Asda backs out of East End site after protest, The Telegraph, 17 June 2006
Comments
Hide the following 13 comments
indymedia supports israel
18.08.2006 17:16
i hate communist scum
Toxic waste
18.08.2006 20:41
The report covered the "spoil" from the collapsed tunnel, I was surprised to hear that it consists of ashes from incinerators some poor bugger has had 20.000 tons(at least) dumped in their back garden. this stuff is basically toxic waste and is considered dangerous even in italy where the (eco)mafia routinely deals with dangerous waste.
It seems that tesco's are on a par with britains finest and can quite literally get away with murder. This list is appalling, IMC UK should have a special section dedicated to this organized crime ring !
nano
fair article
18.08.2006 20:43
hmm
Why Not?
18.08.2006 23:21
Thank you
Shotgun Jack
Get real
19.08.2006 09:38
1. Tesco's will not offer you more choice they will just force Somerfield and dozens of other shops in your town to close down. This will create fewer jobs as one big Supermarket employs a lot less people than a high street full of small independent buisnesses.
2. At the moment small buisnesses or market stalls are locally owned and profits they make stay in the local economy, whereas Tesco's hoover up all the profits and take them out of the local community and even Scotland in your case.
3. The issue here is why have Tesco's been allowed to again and again break the law, where as if you, I or the manager of your local Somerfield broke the law we would end up in prison. Tesco's have so much money that no-one, like a local authority in charge of planning will take them to court because Tesco's have £ millions to spend on legal action, whereas the average legal budget for a rural council is about £30 000 a year. So Jack why are you defending a criminal organisation who acts like a medieval robber baron?
4. When was it descided and in which political manefesto was it stated that the regeneration of towns in Britain was about giving enormous power and priviledge to Tesco's? Since when was planning a whole town around a single shop common sense. Funny once the Labour party talked about real jobs and real industry, now it just wants to keep it rich mates happy, and create micky mouse jobs.
Don't worry Jack your touching fawning to big buisness will I am sure insure you get a job stacking shelves in Tesco's. You will find it fulfilling work and your town will become proud of becoming Tesco town. You will get a job that you can hand on to your children and grand children down the generations, beacuse Tesco's will insure there will be no other possible form of gainful employment.
Vic
Thank you
19.08.2006 10:47
Thank you again.
Shotgun Jacks
Tesco - a few extra thoughts
22.08.2006 13:25
Yes, the article could have said more (suggest listen to the BBC Radio 4 Face the Facts programme), but was written in haste in order that readers could catch the repeat of the programme on Sunday.
One thing the article fails to mention is the huge warehouse distribution depot being planned to sit alongside Farnborough Airport. It is rumoured to be a distribution depot for Tesco. That it will sit alongside an airport indicates it will be used for airfreight.
Shotgun Jacks is talking drivel.
From his description of Crieff, it sounds like a failing town centre. The last thing he therefore needs is a superstore which will extract money out of the local economy.
Superstores don't give choice, they give the illusion of choice.
I suggest he reads the report by New Economics Foundation on Queen's Market at Upton Park in the East End of London.
Also read:
Joanna Blythman, Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets, Fourth Estate, 2004
The Impact of Large Foodstores on Market Towns and City Centres, DETR, October 1998
Felicity Lawrence, Not on the Label, Penguin, 2004
Andrew Simms et al, Ghost Town Britain, New Economics Foundation, 2002
Andrew Simms et al, Ghost Town Britain II, New Economics Foundation, 2003
It is true, as he says, Tesco does have a track record of treating their staff better than other supermarket chains, but Tesco do not create jobs, they destroy jobs. On average 1200 jobs destroyed by each superstore.
A superstore is a generator of traffic, superstores are the biggest contributers of lorries on our roads.
One only has to look at Aldershot, like Crieff, another failing town centre. An edge-of-town Tesco superstore took business from the town centre. Admittedly it was not the only contributing factor, gutting the town centre for a shopping mall, bad planning decisions, and of late, large theme pubs for binge drinking, have all helped destroy a once proud Victorian town.
There was a very good description of Aldershot town centre on Wikipedia, at least there was until a wikithug, demonstrating his ignorance of Aldershot, decided to delete what was there as he didn't like what was written.
compare
with
For more on the impact of superstores on town centres (not Tesco specific) see
If Shotgun Jacks is genuinely interested in revitalising Crieff, rather than being a prat, I suggest he looks at some of the work carried out by the New Economics Foundation.
To open his eyes to the activities of Tesco, I suggest he visits:
Keith
Face the Fact
23.08.2006 23:11
Shotgun Jacks
Face the Fact
24.08.2006 07:38
Shotgun Jacks
Another Shop
25.08.2006 11:11
Shotgun Jacks
Well, Black My Eyes and Slash My Writs...
04.09.2006 15:07
dickholes
my razor-blade rollercoaster rips through my veins in twain
Crieff Update
11.08.2007 15:28
Crieff is also within delivery distance of Tesco's and Asda in Perth so here's your solution Jack. If it refuses to deliver as far as you use a fake postcode. Easy.
Serj
You can't keep out supermarkets
27.07.2010 12:45
To oppose supermarkets is protectionism. Prices go up and some businesses are protected. Nice for the wealthy. But it is the poor who pay.
Personally, I'd like to push for more markets. Not pricey affairs from "farmers" but geniune market stalls. These provide a good way to add variety to th retail mix and keep the supermarkets on their toes. Sadly outside London and the big cities they have faded away.
Max Hotopf
e-mail:
max@hotopf.com