Last Friday I went round most of the shops north of the town centre to do a short survey on Fairtrade. But what really concerned some local shop owners was that Tesco were creating two new convenience stores (from pubs without the need for planning permission) in an area that already has a number of locally run convenience stores, some fairly new.
The planning applications for the second Tesco Express at the Ox Pub was under discussion this evening by the district council planning committee. By now they will already have decided whether to give the go ahead for the new Tesco signs, changes to the building, and the ATM. They have no power to decide whether a pub can become a shop or not.
On my travels I was pleased to visit Mak Wines, at Peachcroft, whose prices are cheaper then Tesco, and they do Fairtrade wines.
I also saw that there is to be a Turkey Tasting Day this Saturday at Peachcroft Farm…
I hope the Turkeys get lots of nice nibbles.
The Tesco application was approved by the Planning Committee
so now the public get the chance to put their money where their mouth is – we will find out if the public really do want it or not.
ATM has been refused though.
….as has the 3.2m tall sign.
Too late there will be a Tescos there, the shop next door will go bust unless it change.
People will not vote with there feet,
Welcome to Tesco-on-Thames
Twinned with Bicester 🙂 and many other clones across the nation.
Sad but very true.
Does anyone know what hours they will be open? I noticed today that Londis don’t seem to be restricted by the Sunday 6-hour rule – made me wonder if small outlets are exempt and this is another reason for tesco’s keenness to move into the business of small stores?
You can see which councillors attended that meeting here:
http://whitehorsedc.moderngov.co.uk/mgMeetingAttendance.aspx?ID=1497
It will be interesting to see whether any voted against the officer’s recommendation.
Can I comment on the turkeys rather than Tesco. Their days are numbered . Lived here 23 years and by the 2nd week in December they are all gone. As for tasting, you have the wrong end of the stick or just policitically correct?
hester, retail businesses with a floor area of more than 280 square metres (3,014 square feet) have restrictions on their Sunday opening hours under the Sunday Trading Act 1994.
Of this size they are restricted to any continuous 6 hrs on a sunday between 10 and 6.
I’d imagine both Londis and our shiny new Tesco will not come under this regulation.
Our nation and it’s retail outlook has been weighted in favour of “supermarkets” ever since the Competition Commission reports of the late 80’s and early 90s (where concerns over supermarkets affecting highstreets was looked into – had the goal posts changed by….the supermarkets, with ruling that ONE supermarket was not competition. This is why most towns have more than one supermarket…because THAT creates ‘good’ competition….between supermarkets! The effect on the highstreet was secondary).
Now…we reap what they sowed and in 20 years we turned from “a nation of shop keepers”…in to a nation of shoppers.
In my travels I noticed a street in Southampton in the residential area which has a Tescos Express surrounded by locally run convenience stores which seems to be preforming well, people are too soon to bring up the opinion that Tescos is killing things off, when it could be other factors.
There was a lot of sympathy with the objectors to the 4 applications, of which I was one, but no-one voted against. On the other hand everyone supported the officers recommendation to refuse the large gantry sign.
There WILL be significant traffic problems but the council is powerless to impose any restrictions on traffic movement or delivery hours because the law says it is not a change of use and therefore only existing restrictions can apply.
In reality it SO is a change of use. All I can do now, as the local councillor, is to try persuade the planning officers to see if we can get some informal agreement with Tesco to ameliorate the worst of the threats to highway safety.
The future success or otherwise of Tesco is in the hands of those who choose to shop there.
The laws on change of use need to be amended so that local authorities can judge each change on its merits or possible harm. If you agree then please lobby your MP and anyone else you know who might have influence. I shall do likewise.
To build on Angela’s point, to restrict this type of redevelopment in future requires a change in the law.
I’ve posted an epetition on this matter – if it gets 100,000 backers then the government has to consider it. This was the mechanism which finally forced the long overdue hilllsborough disclosure.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4922
Only about 99900 more signatures required, so needs your support
Now only 99,889 🙂
We need to publicise this more widely, Iain.
I do understand that people are upset that Tesco opening, but the real issue here is Greene King. they already have the monopoly on pubs in abingdon and its them that closed the 2 pubs and sold them to Tesco, rather then putting them on the market for anyone to purchase.
A few years ago the vale council voted against the officers recommendation and refused a planning application by tesco to extend their superstore. This was a stand on principle.
If the current crop of councillors have sympathy with the objectors points, but will not vote in accordance with their sympathies, but rather simply follow the officer’s recommendation, what is the point of them being there? Why not just let the officers decide.
Put another way: how many times since the May elections have officers voted against the recommendation of the planning officers?
I believe the tesco extension involved building on a flood plain
out of interest, isn’t all of Tesco already on a floodplain?