Background: St. Albans, Tesco and This Website

Welcome. A large number of St. Albans residents, and others, are concerned about Tesco's plans for a development site in the city.

The site which is known locally as "the Evershed site" is currently home to an old disused book production facility, an empty office building often used for filming, large Victorian town houses and smaller Victorian cottages, a Peugot dealership, petrol station and several small local businesses including a DIY shop, Indian take-away, a business offering educational tuition, and a printer.

The surrounding street scene, which mostly consists of single family Victorian homes and a few hat factories that provided employment for their original occupants, has managed to survive almost entirely intact since the late 1800's.

Local businesses provide just about everything most families would need on a day to day basis. Along with the previously mentioned businesses, there are several pubs, a specialist deli and grocery, Indian and Italian restaurants, a motor garage, a specialist plumbing shop, a dry cleaners and several "corner shops" - the vast majority of which are locally owned and operated by friendly people who know and care about their customers and the area.

In other words, it is a real community, one that is both blessed and cursed by it's location close to St. Albans City Railway Station and London Road which is one of the main road arteries into the city. Clearly, many residents agree, the site does need to be, and almost certainly will, be developed.

The question of how exactly that development is done - by who, when, for what purpose and, perhaps most importantly, with who's goals and ultimate benefit in mind - is important not just for St. Albans residents living adjacent to the Evershed site, but to all local residents and businesses.

Everyone in and around St. Albans will be affected by this development. Because of this, it is important that we have our say in it. This website is just one opportunity for us to do this. A place for us to share information, ideas, feelings and thoughts about Tesco's plans - and OUR plans - for this sensitive, important, centrally located site of OUR city.

If you'd like to become a contributor to this website, please email tescocampaign@yahoo.co.uk or you can post a comment on any post you find here.