The Council Presses Tesco To Take Action

Following the long-running debate about Tesco's 'derelict' properties on London Road, the council has been pushing Tesco hard to take action. Below we print the minutes of a meeting that took place on the London Road site between the council (both officers and councillors) and Tesco's representatives (no Michael Kissman, unfortunately...). The meeting took place on 5th December - any notes in red are our annotations as usual.

Present: Cllr Robert Donald, Chair of Cabinet, Cllr Mike Lewis, PH for Environment and Sustainability, Cllr Chris Brazier, PH for Planning and Conservation, C.Cllr Chris White, Cllr Jack Pia, Andrew Wearmouth, Valuer and Estates Surveyor, Andrew Robertson, Environmental Services Manager, SADC, Chris Roach, Community Support Manager, SADC, Anthony Clark, Anti-Social Behaviour Officer, SADC (basically the council's heavy guns...)

Mike Moult, Verulam Properties Ltd, William Blomefield, DLA Piper, Steve Walker, Collinson Halls (VPL managing agents), David Smith, DJ Smith & Co. Chartered Building Surveyors (Tesco's representatives - we guess every little one helps, although it would have been good to have someone from Tesco actually attend...)

The purpose of the meeting was to review the condition of the Odeon car park and the condition of several of the houses, with a particular emphasis on their immediate external appearance. The following were proposed:-

• Car park - To be cleared of undergrowth and rubbish. To be fenced off at the front (adjacent London Road) with a fencing which will deter fly posters. Fence does not necessarily need to be 6ft tall. Lower may be adequate. Consider (depending on type of fence) using the fence as a place to advertise Council events eg Skating rink, Christmas panto, Christmas shopping times, Christmas markets. Andrew Robertson to advise on fencing.
  

• To be secured at rear to prevent rough sleepers accessing gardens to rear of London Road properties and the properties themselves. At request of Cllr Brazier, Chris Roach to ask Brian Peers (Engineering & Technical Services Manager) if it is possible that NCP could manage the car park. This would require reinstatement of dropped kerb on the highway frontage.
  

(Interestingly, at Stop Tesco's meeting with Tesco's Michael Kissman 6 months ago, as part of his consultation he promised to look into re-opening the car park to see how many people would use it! - looks like nothing happened after that...).

• Houses: White house (right hand end) – hoarding has been removed from the wall which leaves a dirty square on the wall. Suggest: repaint house wall. Mike Moult said that this work was waiting on discussions with previous advertisement lessee, but given the minimal cost involved, it was suggested that the wall could be painted immediately for the sake of its appearance.
  

• Windows boarded up in vacant properties. Where boarding has been removed or damaged, this to be replaced. Suggestion that boarding should be internal rather than external. Suggest: pictures to be put on the boards facing outwards to give impression that house is occupied.
  

• General tidy up of forecourts of houses including removal of weeds.

• Suggest that, if and where possible, electricity supply is disconnected. Regular checks will need to be made for signs of break in and possible lighting of fires.

• Passageway to the left of the London Road properties leading to back gardens of Inkerman Road houses. It does not appear to be well used. However, rough sleepers have easy access to the gardens to the rear of the London Road properties, from both the passageway and the car park. Suggest the access is robustly fenced off as soon as possible, by repairing fence from car park.
  

• Following discussions about the best way of securing the access to the properties from the passageway, the following were suggested:- Either:- Fitting locked gate at London Road end. Such a gate would require agreement of Inkerman Road residents who have right of way and Tesco representatives agreed to seek their agreement. Or:- Fencing off the access and land to the rear of the London Road properties adjacent to the passageway. The latter might be more expensive but would not need the agreement of the Inkerman Road residents so therefore could be quicker.
  

• Outhouse/shed in garden to rear of 77/79 London Road. Currently being used by rough sleepers. Suggest it is knocked down subject to any necessary planning permission.
  

The above works are all suggested to be effected before Christmas to gain immediate effect on the street scene. Meanwhile, Tesco will pursue their investigations regarding bringing the houses back into use with the initial aim of letting them.

Mike Moult agreed to contact Andrew Wearmouth in a week to indicate proposed works.

Chris Roach
6 Dec 07.

We hope the council will follow up after Christmas and check this out - please email us or one of the local councillors if you see any further actions that Tesco should be undertaking to secure and safeguard the area. In the meantime, we hope you all enjoy your Christmases!

Another Great Letter

Thanks to Brian Hodgson who wrote to the Herts Advertiser this week (the 26th anti-Tesco letter in the local press in 3 weeks!). Although we'd disagree with his view that Tesco will win, we do like his idea of local people making Tesco regret its decision to try to build here!

What Has Tesco Got Against Christmas Bands?

We reported a few days about on Tesco banning a Christmas brass band in Blackpool. Now it seems that other Tesco stores are getting in on the act. In Mold, the Deeside Silver Band was told to play outside, because, according to the Daily Post, the band was told that the music might have 'drowned out the Tannoy system and could upset customers'. The band decided it would be too cold for its very young and elderly players to perform a full session and left.

Tesco's spin this time.. "we’ve found that when bands set up by the front door, they collect more money because customers leave stores with plenty of spare change in their pockets.” Why not just admit it, Tesco managers - you were worried that you might make a little less money for a few minutes.

Bah, humbug just about sums it up...

Ten Year Tesco Battle Over?

A story for those who think Tesco is inevitable! After 10 years (two more than our saga in St Albans has lasted) Tesco has withdrawn from a planned store in Stourbridge, according to the Express and Star.

25-1 Against!

Over the past two weeks, during Tesco's consultation period, both the St Albans Review and the Herts Advertiser have carried a series of letters from local people. We've added them up (including the website comments printed by the Review), and the overall score is...

Letters and comments opposing Tesco: 25
Letters and comments in favour of Tesco: 1

Percentage against Tesco 96%
Percentage support for Tesco: 4%

Some of the anti-Tesco comments (none of these are by Stop Tesco spokespeople!) included...

'Are they mad? Everyone who loves in or around St Albans knows that the traffic is a nightmare on London Road and we simply don't need another supermarket.'

'As for the proposed store itself... it is simply preposterous. What St Albans residents need is more housing and another primary school, not a retail park.'

'Whatever Tesco does, short of packing up and going home, this is the wrong place for a supermarket. It would cause a lot of damage.'

'The 'new' proposals are nothing more than a PR stunt by Tesco'

'[Tesco's] only concern is to fool a majority into backing something we don't want and don't need. Please throw this out'

'The stated benefits of the proposed Tesco store are nonsense'

'Tesco's initial suggestion for London Road was a monstrosity of the first order. The advantage to it is that it can now suggest a monstrosity of the second order and claim it as a huge 'improvement''.

Stop Tesco's letter to the Review pointed out that all local politicians remain steadfast in their opposition to the store.

Thanks to all letter writers and website commentators - and please keep writing to Tesco, to local MPs and to local papers. Weblinks are on the right of the blog.

PS - there was one letter in favour! Simon Wilde, who does live locally, wrote to say that 'Tesco will improve the local road infrastructure and offer residents competitive shopping facilities without having to travel or even use a car'.

All we can say is keep drinking the Kool-Aid, Simon! Tesco's road infrastructure improvements currently consist of painting a short white line down the centre of a short stretch of London Road (incidentally removing parking for existing local businesses). They also claim that by 'rephasing traffic lights' congestion will disappear - if it's that easy, why hasn't Herts Highways used this technique to reduce the existing 600m+ queues on Saturdays? Against this, the company needs to attract significant extra traffic to justify the store - they're not going to survive with local people and that's why the plans have over 400 car parking places.

In terms of 'competitive shopping facilities' - the danger that we all fear is Tesco reducing competition by threatening the future of the City markets, as well as the existing local shops in London Road and Victoria Street!

Happy Christmas from Tesco...

Tesco seems to be becoming ever scared of letting anything get in the way of people shopping - such as having a good time. Tesco has banned entertainers with balloons, forbidden spending too much time shopping, and now thrown a band playing Christmas carols out of its store. Despite booking a slot to entertain shoppers, the Blackpool Gazette reports that the local Guardian Concert band was asked to stop playing after only 3o minutes, for 'Health & Safety' reasons.

What we really like about this story is Tesco's incredible spin on the story - in particular its use of the phrase 'the band were moved to a sheltered area immediately by the front door' to mean 'the band were moved outside'. Unsurprisingly, they weren't able to keep playing in the cold and went home.

UPDATE: The Daily Mail adds a comment from one band member 'The feeling of our bass player was that [Tesco] merely wanted more space for the poinsettia display - because that is what they moved in when we left.' Every little helps...

Tesco Defeated in 'Tesco Town'

Further good news for anti-Tesco campaigners today. The Highland News reports that Tesco's application for a fourth store in Inverness has been rejected. Tesco already receives over half the grocery money spent in Inverness - but wanted to build a 4,000+ square metre store (a similar size to its St Albans proposal). A 4,000 strong petition and 73 letters of objection were enough to see Tesco off.

The paper quotes Steve Rodger, Holm Community Council chairman, as saying,

"It is a victory. Nobody wanted it. The public rejected it, the planners rejected it and councillors unanimously rejected it and now, thank goodness, the government reporter has rejected it. We are delighted."

In St Albans we already have a petition well in excess of 4,000 names. We also have a huge number of opponents who are happy to write letters to make their point. Many thanks to all those who wrote this week to the St Albans Review & Observer and the Herts Advertiser. In total there were 9 anti-Tesco letters published and a large number of similar comments in the Review's online discussion forum.

What the Council Really Said to Tesco about the Derelict London Road Houses

We've obtained the following meeting notes under the Freedom of Information Act. They relate to a meeting Tesco held with the council on 7th November about the houses Tesco owns in London Road. Following the meeting, the council issued a press release that put a positive gloss on the meeting, promising to refurbish the houses quickly. As the notes make clear, the meeting was not that positive for Tesco and council officials were quite blunt! As usual, the notes in red are our comments...

Tesco and the “Evershed” site, London Road, St Albans. Briefing note resulting from the meeting between the Council and Tesco representatives on 7 November.

At previous meetings, the Council had expressed concern at Tesco’s intention a) to build a large store which would serve a wide catchment, increasing traffic on already busy roads, and
b) to demolish the housing on the boundaries of the site, as this would destroy the ambience of the Conservation Area.

A more “neighbourhood” type of store is now suggested, with the frontage housing on London Road and Alma Road being preserved. However, whilst Tesco have agreed to the reduced development and the retention of the residential element, the time taken to resolve their proposals had resulted in a deteriorating street scene, the existing properties being allowed to fall into disrepair. This is particularly important as London Road is a major entry point to the City and the current state of the area gives a poor impression.

The point was made that the Council was actively removing fly-posting on the old (privately-owned) Odeon building and it was felt that Tesco should also act to enhance the properties in their ownership. Indeed it was further suggested that they should bring the housing back into use pending the proposed shop development.

Tesco stated that they were spending substantial sums of money on keeping their property litter-free and weather-tight, but it was suggested that this was not enough. Considerable quantities of dumped rubbish is on site, paint is peeling and windows etc are rotting. Tesco claimed that the previous occupants had stripped the houses out, apparently in the belief they were to be demolished (who gave them that idea?), and that repair and renovation would be costly and unviable in advance of the main shop development. Whilst they (Tesco) had agreed to modify their original proposals to allow retention of the housing, they still felt that some of the properties may need to be demolished if they were found to require unviable repairs. It is however arguable that in a belief that demolition would eventually take place (without the benefit of advice from the Council’s planning department) they as owners may be considered to have presided over that deterioration and be responsible for it. (Essentially and rightly, Tesco will be blamed if the houses fall down during its ownership of the properties)

Nevertheless, they then stated that they already had building surveyors on site producing a schedule of the necessary works. They indicated that they might know ('might' - this is the company that supplies one-third of the UK's groceries - surely it can plan better than this!) “by March 2008” what works were needed. They stated that they anticipated submitting their planning application “by Christmas” (20 days to go, Tesco!). It appeared that they were seeking to link the refurbishment of the housing with planning permission for the shop – perhaps seeking to pressurise the Council into granting planning permission by withholding the refurbishment until then. (no, Tesco wouldn't be doing this, would it?)

The Council team stated that such a long delay on a prominent site was unacceptable. It was understood that Tesco may be seeking the most cost-effective way of procuring the overall development, but leaving the properties as they are was not an option for such a period of time. It was suggested that while they would wish to renovate them to a standard suitable for maximising sales after the completion of the shop development, an element of refurbishment sufficient for short-term let may be appropriate. The point was made that planning and land ownership issues were separate and that a landowner was expected to look after its property irrespective of whether planning permission was being sought. After all, depending on the nature of the shop proposals, the timescale for the planning process was unknown. Even if planning permission were granted, there would be a development period, which Tesco suggested would be up to 2 years.

It was also suggested that if the building surveyors were already on site, it should only be a matter of two or three weeks until Tesco knew the likely extent of refurbishment works. It was not necessary to await formal specifications and tender returns to decide what were the likely costs and what may be possible.

The Council indicated that they had commenced work on an EDMO (Empty Dwellings Management Order), aimed at taking over the housing on the grounds that Tesco, as owner, was allowing it to decay. The intention of an EDMO is to ensure that the properties are brought back into use and the Council would work in partnership with a Housing Association to do this.

Tesco undertook to redouble their efforts to clean up the site. They would clear rubbish on a more frequent and regular basis, and carry out cosmetic works to the housing. They also undertook to carry out preliminary investigations aimed at bringing as many houses as possible back into short-term use pending the eventual redevelopment. It was not clear whether Tesco would share with the Council the outcome of the housing survey, but if they continue to suggest that the necessary works are uneconomic, then the survey would be required as supporting evidence.

The Council stated that they would continue to promote the first stage of the EDMO, but then hold it in abeyance pending Tesco’s actions.

We will keep watching to check that these houses are brought back into use - with the current housing shortage in St Albans, it is incredible that these houses cannot be rented out!

We've also got some great further information via the Freedom of Information Act - keep watching!

Why Parking at Tesco and Shopping in the City Centre is Not Going to Work!

Tesco has made a big point of the idea of offering 'up to 3 hours' parking as part of the London Road development. It claims that this will allow time for shopping in Tesco and a visit to the City Centre. However, Tesco's recent actions show that the company doesn't like anyone spending too long parking - even if they spend all the time in Tesco! The Guardian reports today that Tesco wrote to an elderly, disabled couple who dared to spend 4 hours in a Tesco store to say,

"We know from research that the time limits exceed the time customers spend shopping in our stores and feel that they are fair and reasonable. Therefore could you please observe the time restrictions to avoid a parking charge notice being issued."

You might think this is an isolated incident, but a similar incident happened just a couple of days ago in Chorley, according to the Chorley Citizen.

The fact is that Tesco needs to keep a high turnover in its car parks to make a profit and has absolutely no interest in letting people go into the centre of St Albans (an unlikely thing for them to do anyway, given the steep hill in the way!). We remain deeply worried about Tesco's use of the phrase 'up to 3 hours' and fear that the company will vary parking times to ensure maximum use of the store with no thought for the wider needs of the community.

Herts Advertiser Coverage

Many thanks to Eric Bridgstock who wrote to the Herts Advertiser to say that he had returned his 'Clubcard' to Tesco in opposition to the supermarket's plans for London Road.

Further coverage of Tesco's consultation can also be found in the paper today or online here.

Tesco's Restaurant Problems

Tesco is promising a 'new customer café' as part of its propsals. You might want to read this article from the icBerkshire website before you think this would be a good thing for St Albans. Just one quote (this isn't half of it!)...

"Officers from Reading Borough Council's environmental health department swooped on Tesco's restaurant Avenance in the Napier Road store on November 16, after a customer complained of finding bristles of a wire brush inside a pie."

Negative Views

We've had another, rare, objection to our campaign through the website. As the visitor didn't leave his email, we're going to respond publicly. He (we know his name, but will keep it anonymous) wrote...

'I would allow Tesco into the site, I believe you are small minded people who cannot look into the future and whom are afraid of change'

To be honest, we find this charge a bit silly - we want to see change on the site, we just want to see change that will benefit the people of St Albans. We don't see how another supermarket is a good change - the people of St Albans already have a great choice of shops and supermarkets in the local area. In terms of future needs, given the rise of online food deliveries supermarkets themselves are becoming outdated, but the need for housing will grow for many years to come!

Please keep the comments coming!

Tesco's New Arguments - Our Views

We've had the chance to look at Tesco's consultation materials today. One of the big claims on the website and leaflet is that Tesco has 'listened' and changed its plans. We look at those claims below - material in blue is taken from www.tescostalbans.co.uk, we respond in red!

1) 'You wanted to keep the locally listed buildings on Alma Road'. The latest scheme retains these properties and provides new parking spaces for the residents. In fact, we've gone further. We're also keeping and renovating the traditional houses on London Road too.

We don't give a lot of credit to Tesco for this. Tesco suggested the unnecessary demolitions in the first place and the fact is that St Albans Council made it clear in discussions that it would not allow the Alma Road houses to be demolished. The council has also told Tesco to repair the houses on London Road that Tesco has allowed to become derelict. Finally, the Tesco leaflet also makes it clear that 'traditional houses' on Inkerman Road will be demolished.

2) You thought the store should be smaller. Now that the Alma Road properties are being retained, the store size has reduced by 18%. This also means that the height of the store would be lower.

We predicted months ago that Tesco would make token cuts to its proposals to claim it had 'listened'. An 18% cut might sound good but the store is still far too big - it will still be one of the biggest supermarkets in St Albans in an area that has too much traffic and pollution already.

3) You were worried about traffic congestion. The smaller store will also mean less traffic. As before, we're proposing several measures to maintain traffic flow on London Road, including a dedicated right hard turning lane and new signalling.

This was a major issue, but effectively Tesco is admitting that it has done nothing new in terms of traffic management. The roads around the site are already clogged up, especially on Saturday mornings, where queues of 600m are common. Tesco's plans will not begin to solve the problem and we're frankly disappointed that it didn't even try to come up with new ideas.

4) You would prefer town houses to apartments. We are keeping the town houses along London Road, rather than build new apartments.

See point 1 for our views on this!

5) 'You were concerned that the store would be too visible from London Road. Even more than before, the new store and car park would be shielded from view at street level by the houses that surround the site and through the design of the retail units and store entrance'.

Tesco's new design still shows a massive building with a huge concrete parking area that is not at all in tune with the local area.

6) 'That independent retailing is important in St Albans. We've increased the number of independent retail units on the site from four to seven.'

We don't understand Tesco's logic here. Building more retail units in London Road is not going to help the market traders and central St Albans stores. Existing businesses in London Road and Victoria Street will also face further increased competition. The best way to help independent businesses in the local area is to build more houses to increase the number of customers.

7) 'That parking can be very difficult in St Albans. We have already promised to offer up to three hours free parking'.

Firstly, we're a bit worried by the phrase 'up to three hours' - does Tesco plan to vary this? Secondly, Tesco still seems to think that people will walk from the site into the City centre. It takes a long time and there is a big hill in the way! All the new car park will do is to draw people away from the centre of the City.

There were other objections - why has Tesco not addressed the feedback that local people would prefer a community use for the site - and that pollution levels are already too high?

Tell the St Albans Review What You Think

First coverage of Tesco's new plans appeared tonight in the St Albans Review's website here. Please add your comment to those that have appeared already!

The Consultation is On - Please Let Tesco Know What You Think Now!

Tesco announced to the local press today that it started consulting local people again about the London Road store yesterday (26th November). It has mailed 15,000 local people and businesses and updated its website www.tescostalbans.co.uk. (The website seems to be going up in parts but we assume it will be up in full today (27th November) - we're not sure at the moment if anyone has yet received a leaflet - the streets closest to the development have not!

Tesco has told the local press that consultation will end on 10th December. That gives less than 2 weeks for the people of St Albans to make their opposition to Tesco clear. To help us, please do the following....

1) Read through Tesco's site and materials and then enter your comments into the Tesco website by following this link or sending back Tesco's leaflet.

2) Please be very clear about your views on the site - don't leave Tesco any 'wriggle-room' to claim that you support the idea of a store. We suggest the following replies...

1. Do you agree or disagree with the findings of the Council's retail report that highlights the need for a new food store in St Albans - Undecided - there has been significant growth of food stores since the report that may meet needs.

2. Do you agree or disagree that this is the best available site near the town centre to meet the identified need for a food store? - Disagree - the best site would be near the police station from where people could feasibly walk into the centre.

3. The proposed store has been designed to be broadly hidden behind the houses that surround the site. Do you agree or disagree with the proposed design? - Disagree - the design is not in keeping with the surroundings and will take away green spaces entirely.

4. How beneficial do you think up to 3 hours free car parking at the store will be to:

A: Shoppers visiting London Road retailers - Not beneficial - as the stores will be badly affected by competition and may close

B: Shoppers visiting any St Albans shops - Not beneficial - noone is going to walk up London Road into town, and St Albans shops will be badly affected by loss of business, reducing consumer choice.

5. Do you agree or disagree that the proposed measures to aid traffic flow on London Road are appropriate - Disagree - there is no attempt to improve poor public transport and the sheer volume of additional traffic will gridlock the area at key times during the week, especially Saturdays.

Further comments:

You may wish to suggest there are better alternative uses such as housing or a school; complain about Tesco's allowing buildings in the area to become derelict; point out the huge local opposition; or mention the increase in pollution the store will bring.

3) Let us know your views by emailing tescocampaign@yahoo.co.uk or sending us a copy of your leaflet to 39 Alma Road, St Albans. Please let us know immediately of any feedback you get from Tesco, or if there are 'problems' with their website (during the last consultation exercise the website was repeatedly out of action).

4) Let others know of the importance of opposing Tesco - the company has chosen to mail 15,000 people presumably in the hope of getting a low turn-out.

5) Let us know by email if you can help us in other ways - especially if you'd be prepared to deliver leaflets to your local area.

6) Watch this space for updates!

PS - here are two photos of Tesco's new plans.... what seems to be missing is the traffic jams and associated pollution! There's also no view from Bedford Road - what will these residents see? And there's no accompanying image of the green belt housing that will be needed if this key site in walking distance of the Thameslink station is lost to a supermarket!

Tesco's Press Release in Full

Here's Tesco's press release announcing the consultation... we're not convinced...

Tesco unveils new plans for London Road

Tesco has today launched the final stage of its consultation on its proposals to redevelop London Road. The new proposals have changed significantly from the draft scheme consulted on earlier in the year. It now includes:
Our scheme would mean:

• A smaller Tesco store - at 4,000 sq m it's 18% smaller than first proposed
• 7 independent retail units - 3 more than originally included
• Improved design - to integrate the development with the local surroundings
• 490 shared parking spaces for store and City Centre shoppers - allowing shoppers to park and visit the City Centre
• Fewer store parking spaces at street level, further reducing noise pollution
• Retained locally listed buildings on London Road and Alma Road - rather than new flats
• New residents’ parking on Alma Road and Inkerman Road
• Major road improvements to aid local traffic flow - including a signalised store access; upgraded junction where London Road meets Lattimore Road; and removing store traffic from the main flow of traffic by creating a right-hand filter lane on London Road.

These proposals have changed significantly from those proposed in Spring 2007. This has been as a direct result of the views expressed during this consultation.
Project spokesman, Michael Kissman said:

"Our proposals are significantly different because we've changed them as a result of what people told us during the initial phase of consultation. We will be submitting the application soon, as we're keen to progress the redevelopment of the site. Before we do that, we want to know what people think of the new plans and whether there are any more changes we should be making."

Consultation leaflets have been posted to the 15,000 homes and businesses closest to the London Road site. Tesco has asked for consultation submissions to be returned by 10th December. The leaflet can be downloaded at www.tescostalbans.co.uk, or requested by calling 0845 603 9805 or emailing comments@tescostalbans.co.uk.

The Countdown is On

Earlier this month, Tesco promised that it would 'issue a consultation leaflet in November' as part of this press release. To remind the company of this, we've added a countdown timer to the website...

Lets hope that Tesco's Michael Kissman isn't delayed too long in Gerards Cross, where he is representing his employer in the infamous 'Tesco Tunnel' saga, according to the Bucks Free Press.

Massive Cambridge Anti-Tesco Protest

The campaigners against Tesco's plans for Mill Road in Cambridge (the city where Tesco already has a 51% market share!) held a massive march yesterday. Pictures can be found here!

Tesco Houses Provoke Discussion

Following the article in last week's Herts Advertiser about Tesco's 'derelict' houses on London Road, a stream of anti-Tesco letters appeared this week.

Angela Nicholls of St Albans Stop Tesco railed against Tesco's landbanking, Simon Grover of the St Albans District Green Party questioned why Tesco was trying a second consultation exercise when 95% of local people were opposed to its plans, and local resident David Dorkings pointed out the disadvantages of building a supermarket in the middle of a residential development.

Finally, Cllr Chris Brazier of St Albans Council outlined the council's conversations with Tesco and proposed use of an EDMO (Empty Dwellings Management Order for property nerds) to refurbish the derelict houses if needed. Slightly worryingly, the date for Tesco to 'enhance and refurbish' the properties seems to have been set as February 2008 - does a retail giant really need 3 months to do up some houses?

As always, thanks to those who write to keep the Tesco story in the local papers!

Sheringham Success (not for Michael Kissman though)

The ongoing saga of Tesco's plans for the Norfolk town of Sheringham took a positive twist today. According to the EDP24 website, local councillors voted 17-0 against Tesco's plans.

Campaigner Eroica Mildmay (great name!) from the Sheringham Campaign Against Major Retail Overdevelopment said the outcome was an,

“absolutely fantastic victory for common sense over corporate bullying."

However, there is still concern as Tesco is a planning an appeal! Plus our old sparring partner Michael Kissman popped up to claim it was a,

“sad day for the majority of residents of Sheringham” who he said wanted the store. (Would be interesting to see his stats and if they're like the ones he tried to use initially in St Albans!)

Hope he gets back quickly from Norfolk in time to distribute his much-anticipated and promised consultation leaflets here - there's only 1 week left in November you know!

Tesco 'To Be Aggressive in Slashing Christmas Booze Prices'

One issue we've talked about before is how Tesco claims to want the best for local communities. We're not sure how this can sit alongside the company's policy on selling ever cheaper alcohol. Commentators have linked the availability of cheap alcohol to anti-social behaviour, increased alcoholism and under-age drinking.

This Christmas, the problem is set to get worse. Tesco's Head of Beer, Wine and Spirits, Dan Jago, told Off-Licence News that,

“Deep promotional activity is even more aggressive than last year, across the board. It’s proving to be a very competitive market and customers are getting a very good deal.”

Off-Licence News' sister publication, The Morning Advertiser, reports that lager is now available in some Tesco stores for as little as 22p a can. We're not convinced that such policies and practices would help St Albans!

UPDATE: The Belfast Telegraph reports that Tesco has been found ' in breach of the Code of Practice for selling and promoting alcohol'. Apparently, Tesco ran a "buy 12 cans get 12 cans free" offer and ran newspaper advertisements 'encouraging people to "get in fast"'. Responsible drinking?

Competition Commission Survey Results In

Not surprisingly, 72% of visitors to this site think that the Competition Commission is too easy on supermarkets. What we're interested in is who the two visitors who thought the opposite are. We do welcome anyone to the site - even those working in Tesco head office!

The next poll starts today. In the light of the recent debate over the derelict houses in London Road, we ask what action St Albans Council should take. Please add any comments to this post, or email us your views.

Time To Take Action Against Tesco

Following on from yesterday's comments in the St Albans Review and Observer from Conservative Cllr Teresa Heritage suggesting compulsory purchase of the Eversheds site, Stop Tesco's Ian Langford follows up with more supporting evidence for this in a letter to the Herts Advertiser. We reproduce this in full...

Sir - In September 2000 St Albans District Council granted planning permission for 46 flats and 19 dwelling houses on the former Eversheds site in London Road. The site was subsequently purchased by Tesco. The assumption of housing on this site, along with the former Odeon Cinema car park, are included in the council's 2005 and 2006 Housing Capacity studies to deliver 7,000-plus new houses without building on the Green Belt.

In 2006 the Herts Advertiser reported "Cllr Chris Brazier wants to use compulsory purchase powers if Tesco does not come up with a plan for the land it owns off London Road. The area has become rundown since Tesco acquired the former Eversheds print works and surrounding area". Over a year later the area looks just as bad.

Tesco are yet to submit firm plans, and now the Conservative group leader on the council has made the same call for compulsory purchase.

Come on St Albans District Council, let's stop talking and start acting. Send Tesco a Christmas card containing a compulsory purchase order for the Eversheds site. Give the 5,000 plus local residents who have signed the petition against a Tesco superstore and have to live alongside this blighted area a great Christmas present, and into the bargain provide some affordable housing, reduce the pressure to build on the Green Belt and maybe even include a much needed primary school in the development as well.

The Review has more on the derelict houses...

The St Albans Review and Observer covers Tesco's promise to look at its derelict buildings on London Road today. It also reveals that Tesco owns 60 properties in the area, of which 16 are derelict.

Local Green Party spokesperson, Simon Grover, spoke for many local residents in the article, when he said,

"[Tesco] is just spinning this out in the hope that local people will just give up".

Elsewhere in the same paper, and from the other side of the political spectrum, Cllr Teresa Heritage, Leader of the Conservative Group on St Albans Council, writes a letter arguing that the council should compulsarily purchase the Tesco site and use it for the logical purpose of new housing. Tesco has once more succeeded in uniting all political parties against its plans.

Tesco and St Albans Council Speak

UPDATED 17:30 13th November

Following our posting of the press release this am, we've now added some further thoughts, in red of course...

Here's the full text of a press release issued by St Albans City & District yesterday. We'll come back and analyse it later, but at the moment, it could be that Tesco is ready to move on its next 'consultation'.

Tesco agree to clean up their site

St Albans City and District Council met with representatives from Tesco, to discuss the state of their land and the vacant properties bordering the site, on Alma Road and London Road.

The objective of the meeting was to agree a way forward that would ensure an improvement to the appearance of the properties and gardens as well as the land, which would benefit local residents and provide a better impression of the city to people entering it via the London Road.

At the meeting on 7 November, the following steps were agreed:-

· Tesco will ensure that the site is cleaned up and a photo taken to provide a reference for future monitoring. They will also ensure more money is invested to keep it this way.

(Not that we mind this happening, but shouldn't this cleaning been taking place for the 7 years of Tesco ownership?)

· Tesco are having the properties surveyed and will advise the council by the end of the year, whether they will renovate and refurbish them to rent to tenants, or wait until they know the outcome of their planning application and sell them.

(This is in response to the threat by local councillors to take over the houses and use them to help St Albans's housing crisis, as we reported in October, so we can't give you any credit here at all, Tesco. In fact, you're actually causing more delay by waiting until the end of the year. Sorry.)

· Tesco will issue a consultation leaflet in November and a new planning application by January 08.

(Don't hold your breath in anticipation. We've documented before how Tesco has repeatedly promised a planning application for over a year. Our recent online poll showed strong feeling that Tesco will wait for changes in planning law before proceeding. Tesco has also been saying on www.tescostalbans.co.uk that it will release full details of its new plans 'in a few weeks' - since July 19th!)

· The council will continue to discuss with Tesco, how their property could be occupied and well maintained.

Cllr Robert Donald, Chair of Cabinet commented:

“I was very pleased with the constructive nature of the meeting which was held, and look forward to resolving together the twin issues discussed, regarding the general run-down appearance and dereliction of this part of London Road, and re-letting the empty properties to assist housing need in the district, in the near future. Residents and visitors are becoming increasingly concerned about the situation on this heavily used route into the city.”

(We agree with Cllr Donald, and hope Tesco noticed the end of his last sentence, which we've highlighted in blue!)

Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager, Michael Kissman said:

"Tesco is sensitive to the issues on London Road, which is why we asked to meet Cllrs Donald and Brazier. We have changed our plans so we no longer plan to demolish the houses on London Road, we were therefore happy to outline how we will improve their appearance. We all agreed that the buildings should be brought back into use."

"A leaflet outlining our latest plans for the site will be sent to local residents over the next two weeks. We intend to submit a planning application within the next three months."

(Michael, we're looking forward to your leaflet, and can assure you that we will encourage people to make their comments and send them back to you. We will encourage them to say that your plan will increase congestion even more (last Saturday was awful as it is), increase pollution, damage local retailers and the 1000 year old market, and waste the opportunity for affordable housing and a school in a key central (but NOT City Centre) location. We will encourage them to say that your development is highly inappropriate for a conservation area.)

More Support from our MP

Thisishertsfordshire carries the latest views of St Albans' MP Anne Main. Speaking after Tesco unveiled its new plans, she says,

"These revised plans indicate that the majority of locally listed houses will now be saved, refurbished and remarketed as family homes. I welcome the fact that Tesco isn't now planning to tear down characterful local properties but I am unhappy that Inkermann Rd homes are still under threat."

"I know that residents are heartily sick of the tatty appearance of the London and Alma Road areas and are frustrated by the fact that these houses, which could have provided family homes, have been lying idle and falling into disrepair.

"Despite the revisions these new store proposals are still too big and the store will inevitably cause traffic mayhem in the local area.

"I still maintain that this is the wrong store in the wrong place."

Thanks for the support!

Three Levels of Unpopularity

The papers today are full of opposition to Tesco....

1) In Norwich, the Evening News reports that over 200 people have written in to object to Tesco's fourth application for a store in Unthank Road.

2) The Highland News in Inverness reports on Tesco's plans to further increase its current 50% share of the grocery market in the city with another Express store. (Tesco may be in a hurry here as this is the sort of situation the Competition Commission is set against!)

3) The Evesham Journal tells of fears for increased traffic and local job losses if another Tesco Express is allowed to open in Cheltenham Road.

Petition Is Still Growing - Approaching 5,500!

We've not mentioned this for a while, but our petition against Tesco is still growing! Since we reached 5,000 in June we've not been out collecting signatures but a number of loyal retailers threatened by Tesco have kept the numbers up by putting petition forms on their counters. We've also had a small but steady stream of online signatures.

The current total is 5,087 signatures on paper and 383 online - making 5, 470!

Thanks to you all. If you've not signed up, please use the links on the right to download a form or to sign up online. If you have signed the petition, don't sign again, but please send us your contact details or keep visiting this site so we can update you on other actions you can take. Frustratingly, we're waiting for Tesco to formally start its consultation before we can start objecting again!

Kissman goes into battle in Britain's Smallest Town

OK, the main part of this story in the Independent is about the ongoing fight of local people to preserve the town of Manningtree from the 12th Tesco within 10 miles of the town, but we're excited to see that Tesco's Michael Kissman (the man who won't return our phone calls or meet us) is now getting into the national press!

Tesco wants to build a 30,000 ft store in the town, prompting Jenny Hawley, chair of the Stour Community First pressure group to argue,

"A lot of independent shops have already been lost and while there are fewer than there were 20 years ago you can still do all your shopping on the high street."

Kissman's reponse is fairly standard stuff and similar to his St Albans comments - you'd think he would try something new some time.

The vast majority of people support it and the majority of traders do too. The reality of Manningtree is that people are driving to do their shopping somewhere else."

Perhaps once the people of Manningtree survey local people and traders they'll find the same story as St Albans - the vast majority of both groups oppose Tesco! And to his second point, we've found here that the people who 'drive to do their shopping elsewhere' are almost entirely those who drive past supermarkets on their way to or from work...

Competition Commission Findings In - Have the Supermarkets Escaped?

Wednesday's findings from the Competition Commission enquiry into the UK grocery market have taken some digestion (like past-it's-sell-by-date meat?).

The main findings were reported by lots of media outlets - this article from the Daily Telegraph is fairly representative. Although the report is only an interim one, there appear to be two main steps that will be taken against supermarket domination - supermarkets will be assessed on their market share of local towns, and some form of ombudsdman will be introduced to try to sort out relationships between supermarkets and their suppliers. Against this, it looks like, as predicted, the local 'needs test' will be removed from development.

The first of these - local market shares - does look set to affect Tesco in a number of areas and benefit some anti-Tesco campaigns. The Cambridge Evening News reports that Tesco, which has a 51% share of the local grocery market, may face greater opposition in its plans for a further store in Mill Road. However, we're worried that the removal of the 'needs test' may give Tesco a great advantage over the planning system where it does not dominate the local market.

Some commentators were not happy with the Competition Commission report. Andrew Simms, policy director at the New Economics Foundation think tank, told icWales,

“[The Competition Commission] came to a conclusion that will increase the collective dominance of supermarkets. We need more supermarkets like Richard Branson needs more publicity.”

Have your say on the Competition Commission in our new poll (top right).

A Very Busy Anti-Tesco Day!

Maybe it's because summer is officially nearly over and people's thoughts turn to opposing Tesco's latest developments, but there are lots of stories today about people opposing Tesco up and down the country...

Firstly, at home in St Albans, local resident Polly Robinson writes to the Herts Advertiser to suggest a little joined up thinking and the building of a much needed primary school on the Eversheds site. Thanks Polly!

In the wider world,

• Tesco's highly unpopular application to build in Mill Road, Cambridge has been referred to the Competition Commission by the leader of Cambridge City Council, according to the Cambridge Evening News.
• GetReading reports Tesco's plans to open two new stores within a mile of each other. A local councillor commented, "I think there is a fear that Tesco could completely monopolise the local market".
• ThisisNorthScotland has a story about Tesco appealing against a decision to allow them to build a massive store in Inverness.
  
• The News & Star reports further delays in Tesco's plan to build on a site in Workington that is currently used for public recreation. The delay is blamed on Tesco, surprisingly...

Of course, in St Albans, we're waiting to hear about Tesco's latest 'consultation'.

Consultation Feedback Says No To Supermarket

Ian has been doing some digging (thanks!) into the results of the council's Issues and Options consultation, which we highlighted a few weeks ago. We were specifically interested in Question 33a) which related to the future use of the Eversheds site.

Despite the incredible complexity of getting a comment on the site, 45 people and organisations did comment through the internet. You can see all the responses here, but we've a couple of highlights below.

Firstly, there were 38 objections to the site being used for a supermarket, from local people, residents associations and English Heritage, 84% of the total. Thanks to you all! English Heritage said,

"The site identified as FS1 has implications for the adjoining conservation area. The scale of the site appears excessive in the context of the surrounding townscape and traffic is likely to result in degradation of the area."

Secondly, of the 6 supportive comments, we find it interesting that one came from Tesco and a second from housebuilders Linden Homes (who are building in Victoria Street and obviously think the extra traffic and pollution will not affect potential buyers...)

Finally, there was also an observation from Herts County Council's Passenger Transport Unit. It made a point we've made before, which is that public transport does not actually serve the site, saying,

"The entrance is proposed from London Road which is not directly served by buses. Buses presently use Alma Road and consist mainly of inter-urban routes travelling from St Albans to London Colney. In terms of accessibility by local town services the site is poorly served."

Cambridge Campaign Update

Over 4,000 people have signed a petition against Tesco's plans for Mill Road, Cambridge, according to the Cambridge Evening News.

Does Tesco Ever Take Notice of 'NO'?

One thing that we're very aware of is that Tesco obviously doesn't find the time or cost of multiple planning applications at all onerous - unlike the local councils and campaign groups who spend years rejecting one application after another.

icWales reports on the anger and frustration in the village of Pontyclun caused by Tesco. The company is appealing against one planning application while at the same time putting in a second application.

Another MP Opposes Another Tesco

The Macclesfield Express reports that MP Sir Nicholas Winterton is opposing a new Tesco in the village of Poynton. It also reports that over 500 local people recently demonstrated against Tesco's plans!

Sir Nicholas's problems are eerily similar to ours in St Albans. He told the paper,

"Another Tesco store will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the local community and, in particular, on the small retail sector.

"Whilst Tesco’s corporate affairs manager for the North West assures me that Tesco will help bring both jobs and customers back to Poynton, this will surely be at the expense of local independent retailers.

"Secondly, the village is unable to cope with the increased traffic pressure that a Tesco supermarket with 110 parking spaces would cause. Poynton already suffers greatly during rush hour with congestion.

"Finally, a new Tesco development would mean the destruction of the old cinema building and its replacement with a construction which is far less pleasing to the eye and deprive Poynton of its filling station.

"That will mean that drivers will have to go to Hazel Grove to fuel their vehicles."

More Local People Say No

Tesco's planned store in Cambridge is attracting predictable levels of opposition. The Cambridge Evening News reports that 74% of local people are against a new store, and over 2,250 people have signed a petition saying so. Tesco's plan for Cambridge has many things in common with their plans for St Albans - an unwanted development in an historic city that will damage the business prospects of trusted local traders. Find out more about the 'No Mill Road Tesco' campaign here.

Tesco Doesn't Listen and Is Rejected...

According to the Bradford Telegraph & Argus today, Tesco has been refused planning permission for another store. This time, it was because it refused to reduce the height of the store and the possibility of a future extra story, perhaps one of Tesco's famous 'mezzanine' extensions!

What is interesting is that Tesco claims to be 'disappointed' by the rejection. As one local puts it 'they knew what they had to do'!

In another case today in Wrexham, the Evening Leader reports that Tesco was twice found to be selling out-of-date food - on the second occasion, six weeks after the first, 67 items were found to be out-of-date. Tesco's solicitor blamed 'tremendous pressure' around Christmas - but it's hardly in the Christmas spirit to endanger your customers, is it?

Stop Tesco Using New Planning Laws!

A letter from David Dorking to the Herts Advertiser today urges local residents to write to Anne Main MP to enlist her opposition the the forthcoming Planning Reform Bill. David fears that if the Bill is passed Tesco will not face the current Needs and Impacts Tests.

Please email Anne Main at maina@parliament.uk and ask for her support in this. Thanks, David, for the letter!

Does Tesco Owe Local Residents for Delay?

An interesting letter from local resident Les O'Leary reaches the St Albans and Harpenden Review. He asks,

"Property owners in the vicinity of the Tesco's derelict site on London Road, St Albans, have suffered eight years of loss of amenity and I would assume property values. This is set to continue.

"Do readers know of any legal (statutory or civil) route to recovering such losses from Tesco, perhaps with penalties? I am thinking that persons who have sold properties in the period could, if the evidence can be gathered, demonstrate a financial loss. Perhaps part of all of this loss may be recoverable?"

"Such a case would also attract significant popular support I think and could establish an important precedent that would deter developers from cynically trashing such neighbourhoods for commercial gain".

Any ideas?

UPDATE: Further to this letter, Les has been in touch with Stop Tesco and plans to explore this further! Les also provided us with his calculation that a store the size of Tesco's proposed one will take at least £13.6 million per annum - even by Tesco's own admission, 80% of this will come from other retailers in the City. (Les based this calculation on the Guardian's article that we covered here). Thanks!

Tesco Rejected in Ireland

Tesco has withdrawn an application for a new store in Northern Ireland because of the impact on local traders, according to The Guardian. The supermarket giant wanted to build a store that would have generated annual turnover of £16 million, but the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association pointed out that the annual turnover of all the businesses in Ballycastle's commercial centre is only £12m. It alleged that the town's three butchers, four chemists and mini-markets would have faced ruin.

A spokeswoman for Tesco said:

"We listened to the views of the people in the local area and, as a result of that, we have withdrawn our appeal and are reviewing our options."

Why can't you do the same in St Albans?

Tesco On Stilts Rejected

More sanity, as a planned 70,000 square foot Tesco 'on stilts' has been turned down by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, reports the News and Star.

One scary aspect is that Carlisle City Council had to spend more than £100,000 to put the case against Tesco at a public inquiry earlier this year. Why do local people have to go to such lengths to oppose unpopular schemes?

St Albans Council Leader Slates Tesco Delay

Tesco is really annoying councillors in St Albans. Following on from yesterday's statement by planning portfolio holder, Cllr Chris Brazier, council leader Cllr Robert Donald has weighed in against Tesco.

Speaking to the St Albans Review website, he said that further delays would make residents 'suspicious' of Tesco, adding,

"We know how developers carry on. They did it with the Mile House and they've done it with other developments. But Tesco haven't even put in a planning application.

"If it hasn't really changed that much then it could just be seen as trying to wear down residents by spinning it out as long as possible.

"I'm more than aware that there are some people who would like to have a Tesco there but it has to be of benefit to the community living in that area and across the city and, from what was produced last time around, it wouldn't have been. It would have done damage to the environment and our infrastructure."

We'd agree with everything he says, although we've yet to meet more than a couple of people who would like a Tesco!

PS - Good to see that Tesco's Michael Kissman is also quoted. Apparently he said,

"We've already taken many comments from the community on board and we want to get input again for the new proposals before we submit."

Please stop these weasel words, Michael. You know that the vast majority of local people and local businesses don't want a Tesco store, which is why you're not going ahead with the previous scheme. Unfortunately, you've been told by your bosses to try to get around this, with the help of your army of highly paid 'planning consultants'. Please, if you have any respect for the people of St Albans, you'll go back and tell your bosses to try elsewhere - there are places in the country that want Tesco, but not here!

PPS - and as if by magic, to underscore Cllr Donald's point, here's a link to an article in the Norwich Evening News - Tesco is set to put in a FOURTH application to build a store in the city. Local councillor Chris Hull told the paper,

“Our campaign is still as strong as ever, and we are determined to fight Tesco all the way.

“We were expecting them to submit another application as they hope over the years the will to resist will weaken, but now there are even more people who have moved into the Unthank Road area who do not want Tesco here, so we have a strong case.”

Council May Buy Tesco Land for Homeless!

The Herts Advertiser has an article online here that follows up our post yesterday. The article also demonstrates that Tesco is not making friends in the council, quoting Chris Brazier, the council's planning portfolio holder as saying,

"The earliest planning application now will be the Spring. I am not at all happy about this because we are being left in limbo."

"I think what Tesco do is land-bank and if they get a lot of resistance they go away for a while and then come back with another consultation exercise. Even after that there might not be a planning application."

According to the article, Cllr Brazier also "warned Tesco that the council was considering using new powers given to local authorities by Government to repossess empty properties and use them to house the homeless." Go for it, we say!

UPDATE: Further coverage of this in the Herts Advertiser. It looks like this might actually go somewhere!

Here We Go Again!

According to a press release received today by the Herts Advertiser (which we've not seen!), Tesco has announced that it will be consulting on its new proposals (essentially those already on our website!) 'in the winter'.

Our view, as expressed to the paper, is that...

• Tesco has not addressed any of the concerns raised by local people, except in one small detail - not knocking down as many locally listed buildings as it initially wanted to. The new store will still cause a massive increase in traffic and pollution and damage to locally listed houses. It will still use land that should be used for affordable, green housing and a much-needed school.
• Tesco must now accept that local people do not want the store - 83% of 186 local businesses polled, over 90% of local people in every survey undertaken, every local and national politician that represents the area, every local residents group, and well over 5,000 people who signed a petition against the proposal cannot be ignored.
  
• Local people and businesses are becoming increasingly frustrated by Tesco's lack of momentum. Tesco promised to put in a planning application for the site early this year - now it looks like being at least a year late. This has been a year of uncertainty which is probably contributing to the decline of St Albans City Centre - who would open a food store in the centre with the threat of the Tesco store?
• During Tesco's last delay, the Council has made it clear, in its Issues and Options document, that if there is to be another supermarket in St Albans, it should be to the North of the City on undeveloped land.
  

We'll be issuing details of this 'consultation' as soon as we find out more.

Supermarkets 'Cause 100 Closed Shops in Ipswich'

Anti-Tesco campaigners in East Anglia have blamed the poor state of Ipswich's shopping centre on Tesco. The Ipswich Evening Star revealed last week that over 100 stores in the city are now boarded. Campaigner Nicky Young of Stour Community First is fighting to stop Tesco building a new store in Manningtree.

Local politicians and retailers in St Albans are very worried about the state of St Albans city - I don't think anyone can image how bad it would be with 100 closed stores - yet we know that new supermarkets can cost hundreds of retail jobs.

Stop Tesco on Facebook...

OK, so the 'Stop Tesco in St Albans!!!' Facebook group has been going on for some time, but it's not been mentioned on the blog yet. If you're an afficionado of social networking, please sign up to the group! Click here to find it!

Fashion Designer Questions Tesco Green Credentials

The Daily Telegraph reports today that designer Katherine Hamnett has pulled out of a deal to supply organic and fair trade clothes. The paper reports her as saying,

"I was initially really excited about the tie-up because I thought we could increase demand for ethical products," says Ms Hamnett in an interview published in Drapers, the fashion industry's trade magazine, today. "But I've come to the conclusion that [Tesco] simply wants to appear ethical, rather than make a full commitment to the range."

Thanks to Ian for the story!

What's Happened To Tesco?

Simon Grover of the Green Party writes to the Herts Advertiser today with an issue that has been on our minds...

'Summer has gone and still Tesco has not submitted a planning application..They promised last year that they would move on early this year. But six months after their glossy brochure appeared, the Eversheds site continues to deteriorate and the supermarket refuses to even talk about selling up so we can do something useful about the land.'

As you may have seen, the blog is running a poll to find out when people think an application will be received. Please vote - and please add any comments below. Simon's full letter can be found here - thanks again for your support!

Named Letter Writers Attack Anonymous Letter Writer

For some reason the St Albans Review waited a week before publishing the backlash against the anonymous letter writer who thought housing generated more cars that a supermarket. Perhaps Tesco thought that we'd all gone away...

However, there were four letters in response this week! Thanks to Pete Milne, Simon Hepburn, J Copley and Eric Roberts of the Civic Society for their letters. As usual here are some extracts...

"Anon says how nice it would be to walk to a 'town centre' store. The proposed store is no more in the centre than Sainsbury's. I doubt if anon would shop in St Peter's Street and walk to Tesco and back for nappies."

"The shops in St Albans city centre are quiet at the moment. Another edge of town superstore will make matters worse for them. I would like to see the return of one or two hour free parking instead of the voucher system and better cycling paths around St Albans."

"Stop once and for all trying to make out that a superstore here on the Evershed's site is in a 'town centre' location. It isn't. The real St Albans city centre, in particular its shops and markets, needs all the support it can get, not the threat of further trade extraction."

"The maximum capacity for traffic up London Road is 4-500 cars per hour. I know because I've counted them. Any traffic above this level just queues back towards London Colney and along Alma Road."

"The London Road site is extremely well positioned for access to the Thameslink railway station and bus interchange. Most people living in the area don't drive to work and we'd assume the same would be true of new residents. St Albans has to build new houses - if they are not built here but on the Green Belt there will be a much greater increase in traffic."

Why Tesco Clothes Are So Cheap!

The Daily Mirror reports today of a 'poverty riot' in Bangladesh. 1,000 employees of a Tesco (and Primark and H&M to be fair) supplier set fire to a building in protest about low pay. The Mirror claims that its investigations found that several workers,

'were beaten for not working quickly enough on gruelling 14-hour shifts which earn them just 4p an hour.'

Tesco said...

'We are very proud of our high ethical standards. As a responsible organisation we will of course discuss the issue with Nassa to make sure we understand the issues the workers were protesting about.'

Once again we see Tesco claiming to be proud of something - but we can't see how they can be proud of this!

Are Supermarkets Too Powerful? Interesting Analysis

Today's Independent runs a large article looking at the power of the supermarkets in the light of Thursday's Office of Fair Trading allegation. While giving both sides of the story, there is a definite impression that the supermarkets, especially Tesco, are getting a little too big for comfort.

Watch Out, Delivery Lorries About...

The Times reports today of the frustration experienced by someone living next to a Tesco store. Robert Walsh's car was damaged three times by Tesco delivery lorries in 18 months.

In response, he took direct action and boarded up the entrance to the store, and received a police caution for his trouble.

Given the massive amount of traffic in the areas around London Road and the fact that a lot people park on the road, there must be a significant chance that delivery lorries might well end up damaging cars in St Albans as well, if Tesco was allowed to go ahead with its plans.

How Much Is That Pint of Milk?

According to the BBC (and every other news outlet!), the Office of Fair Trading has accused the big 5 supermarkets (including Tesco!) and five dairy processors, of 'colluding to fix the price of dairy products'. It is alleged that this may have cost the consumer £270 million.

Of course, this underlines that fact that despite what Tesco might say, when you have just a few players in a market, competition suffers.

Anonymous Letter Supports Tesco

The St Albans Review received a letter last week from an anonymous local resident arguing that building houses on the London Road site would cause more traffic problems that a new supermarket. Here are a few reasons why this isn't the case:

1. The London Road site is extremely well positioned for access to the Thameslink railway station and bus interchange and is also a 10-15 minute walk from the centre of St Albans and the Abbey Station. Most people living in the area don't drive to work and we'd assume the same would be true of new residents. St Albans has to build more houses - if they are not built here but on the green belt away from public transport there will be a much greater increase in traffic.

2. Even if 100 or so people did drive to work from these houses, this is a fraction of the 7,000 car movements Tesco expect to generate each day (500 car parking spaces occupied for an hour each over a 14+ hour day). Stop Tesco's traffic survey shows that this could easily double the number of cars using London Road.

Finally, its a pity that the correspondent chose not to reveal his or her name - it leads to all sorts of conspiracy theories - do they work for Tesco for example?

Seeing Is Believing

The North West Evening Mail reports that Tesco is expanding into the optician business in Barrow-in-Furness. The paper also reports the town’s only independent optician, Richard Haynes, as saying,

“My personal view is that these big companies are getting too big. At the end of the day Tesco is a grocers, and should stick with that aspect of it. They seem to be greedy. They seem to want a bit of everybody else’s business.”

St Alban's opticians can now join the list of companies threated by Tesco's plans!

Fantastic Support for Civic Society Walk

Over 70 people joined two St Albans Civic Society walks over the weekend entitled "St Albans Superstore Blues". The walkers were treated to a sample of some of the local history and saw what could be lost in City identity, tranquillity and a remarkably intact 1800s cityscape.

One of the most stunning parts of the walk was when the groups stopped in Inkerman Road and stood quietly for a moment. The absence of noise was quite unexpected, and impressive...something which will be gone forever if the noises of humming chillers and lorries were to fill the air!

Just How Big Is Tesco's Carbon Footprint?

The Observer today reports that 'Tesco's impact on the environment could be 12 times that the supermarket admits to'. Charity Christian Aid has accused the supermarket of failing to include the environmental damage caused by shoppers driving to its stores when it calculates the amount of CO2 it puts out.

Tesco do seem to show a strong commitment to reducing emissions but perhaps a simple way of doing this would be to stop building unpopular stores and work on improving online shopping instead?

'Kissmanwatch' Revisited

It seems like a repeat of a story we blogged in early April - Tesco's Michael Kissman gives out a date for something to happen (in this case a meeting with us to discuss the new Tesco proposals), before disappearing off the face of the earth for a while, and then turning up in Gerrards Cross.

We've been calling his office regularly to see when we can meet, but haven't even had the courtesy of a call back to say he's busy. Now we find, through the Bucks Free Press, that he's behind an application to bring material by train to rebuild the 'Tesco Tunnel' store in Gerrards Cross. For those new to the blog, the planned supermarket there collapsed into the railway tunnel it was being built over.

Maybe once that application has been dealt with he'll be back!

Retailers Need Customers, Not Competition

A letter from Stop Tesco's Nick Hazell reaches the St Albans Review in response to an article the previous week about the concern for retailing in the central St Albans shown by our favourite Chamber of Commerce President, Sandra Oldfield...

Dear Sir,

It is very pleasing that Sandra Oldfield of the St Albans Chamber of Commerce is concerned about the future of retail in the centre of St Albans and wants to work with other local bodies to solve the problem (Review, 29 August).

I am seriously confused though as to how she can square her concern for the City centre with her support for a new Tesco store in London Road, as expressed in her letter to the Review on 24th May. When the St Albans Stop Tesco group asked 196 City centre retailers and market stallholders if they wanted Tesco to build its new store, 83% said ‘no’ while many were fearful that Tesco would negatively affect their business prospects.

The local council’s most recent retail report states that ‘'shoppers are using the Sainsburys, Morrisons and Waitrose stores outside the City centre for their main food shopping needs to the detriment of the City centre as a whole”. Tesco’s planned store is a similar distance to Sainsburys from the centre and will only increase this effect. Research by the British Retail Planning Forum has also found that new supermarkets cause an average of 276 net retail job losses.

I urge Ms Oldfield to talk to the council. I urge her to encourage them to support the idea of building new houses on the London Road site – houses that will mean new retail customers who will not need parking space in the centre and so benefit retailers in the City.

Tesco Meets the Council - The Characters

We've been able to get hold of the minutes of a meeting Tesco held with the planning department of St Albans Council on 4th July this year. The whole meeting is now documented below, but we'll start with the people attending first...

As well as a representative from Tesco (Louise Ford), there were two people from planning consultancy DPP including its senior partner Richard Flack. On its website DPP claims,

'..we are tenacious in helping our clients throughout the UK and Ireland to obtain valuable planning permission for their projects, be they big or small. We have the expertise and we use it. We advise on development and help to secure favourable land allocations in local plans.'

Sounds great, doesn't it - but of course there's not much about it doing what local people actually want...

Tesco also brought along Jo Richards from DLA Piper, 'the 6th largest legal services organisation in the UK' and Cliff Saunders, director of Saunders Partnership Architects.

For the council, attendees were planning officers Ben Borthwick, Philip Bylo and Andrew Robley.

Tesco Meets the Council - Act One

After introductions, Ben Borthwick (of St Albans Council) advised Tesco that the meeting 'could not expect to be confidential' - and of course it no longer is. Then they got down to business under heading 'Update from Developer’s Perspective' (which is what we'll call Act One). Our comments are in red as usual!

Karen Crowder-James (of DPP) (KCJ) explained that there has been a lot of progress since the last meeting in November 2006 and that Joanna Richards would explain to Officers how the public consultation exercise has taken place.

Joanna Richards (JR) explained that attendance at the public exhibition had been high. Of the 5000 leaflets distributed to householders in St Albans, approximately 800 responses had been received. In the initial stages (ie first 500 or so responses received) the public view had been balanced at 50/50 in favour/objection of the proposals but that possibly press coverage then tipped this balance towards objectors. So Tesco admits that its initial consultation was opposed by more local people than were in favour - however they try to spin it (and remember that only they have seen what was written down!)

In the main comments received expressed concerns relating to traffic generation, 'In the main comments recieved expressed concerns relating to traffic generation' - this is not addressed at all at the meeting subsequently which is a bit strange! - whilst some comments welcomed a proposal for retail development within walking distance of residential areas. JR explained that a significant number of adverse comments had been received relating to the proposed demolition of existing dwellings on Alma Road. Further comments outlined a need for family homes and not flats.

JR explained that prior to the public exhibition, Tesco/agents had met with District Councillors who identified existing levels of parking provision in the locality as a problem but the desire to see more off street parking provided was tempered by perceived problems relating to additional traffic generation. We assume that the 'agents' also found that the local councillors were totally against the plan!

JR outlined that Tesco have canvassed the opinion of local businesses, particularly 17 local businesses located on London Road. According to JR, all but one of these businesses expressed the opinion that they wished to see a Tesco store on the site - to this group the advantages of a scheme were seen as outweighing any disadvantages. The local business consultation item is very strange - Tesco had previously claimed that they talked to 27 businesses and that 18 were in favour - now this is 16 out of 17? We talked to 196 and 83% were against the proposal!

Letters had been received from the owners/occupiers of properties in the vicinity of the site and Tesco had subsequently been in dialogue with a “handful” of these individuals. Our experience is that a lot more than a 'handful' of people wrote to Tesco (see the blog for lots of examples) but many did not get a reply from Tesco. JR explained that the “Stop Tesco Campaign” disagreed in principle with a Tesco store in this location andhad stated that the site should instead be used for housing.

JR stated that Tesco had kept in touch with Anne Main, MP for St Albans, (who is also against the plan) and has discussed the proposals with St Albans Chamber of Commerce (whose president has annoyed many local members by favouring the loss of hundreds of local retail jobs) and also with the St Albans Cathedral Dean and Chapter, who were interested in issues relating to the public consultation exercise (what did they say?).

JR stated that Tesco has discussed the proposals with Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Architectural Liaison Officer with respect to potential impacts of the scheme on the night time economy, anti-social behaviour etc relating to opening hours (and Tesco's record on selling alcohol to underage kids?). Tesco has also contacted the local cycle group who raised questions relating to cycle access.

Tesco has requested a meeting to discuss the proposals with the St Albans Civic Society, but so far have not met with this local amenity body.

Philip Bylo (PB) asked whether any issues of principal had been raised by the public, apart from the view expressed by the “Stop Tesco Campaign” relating to significant land use issues?

JR stated that no additional issues of this nature had been raised and residents surrounding the site expressed positive views about the proposals (how many residents?). KCJ’s view was that there was more opposition from the wider residents of St Albans than those in the locality of the site. What we do know is that over 1,200 people in the AL1 postcode have signed a petition against the development!

BB advised that there would be a need to re-consult on the amended proposals to make the consultation exercise more meaningful but other than this he would not wish to advise Tesco on what is a matter for them. JR agreed that it would be important to gather views from the public on the updated scheme and to demonstrate the scheme had responded to the consultation. (this looks a bit like window-dressing - we know that for example after this meeting Tesco threw out the sop of not knocking down listed buildings in Alma Road)

BB explained that the Council’s preference would be that any further re-consultation was carried out before the formal submission of an application for planning permission because if Tesco carried out re-consultations during the Council’s statutory notification period on a planning application then this could potentially confuse members of the public.

Richard Flack (RF) pointed out that he would be keen to show the consultation was an intuitive process from the perspective of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). We're checking what this means and hope it doesn't mean that Tesco and its planning consultants are just looking to tick boxes...