"Tesco have a cheek talking about regeneration. It was because they bought the London Road, St Albans, site and let it run down that the area needs regenerating. St Albans does not need another big supermarket."Robert Smith, Prospect Road, St. Albans
Ian Langford wrote to the Herts Ad to say:
"In reading around the subject about the impact of new supermarket developments I came across mention of a Government study that included two case studies of edge-of-centre supermarkets. The study concluded that "the principal effect of the new stores was to divert trade from the town centre to the edge-of-centre locations".
There was also a recent article in the Guardian about the negative impact the edge-of-centre Tesco had on the town of Stalham with one local quoted as saying: "There were 70 good businesses in the town when they (Tesco) opened but it has become a ghost town. All that made Stalham different is slipping away." The Stop Tesco in St Albans website: www.stoptesco.com has more details on the article.
I am concerned that the proposed edge-of-city-centre Tesco development may have the same impact on St Albans and its vibrant market. However, if it means cheaper food why stand in the way? I then discovered another Tesco myth - Tesco provides cheap food. I took a weekly shop of fruit and vegetables - 11 different products in all - and compared the price in Tesco to that on the market on Saturday morning. While three of the products were marginally cheaper in Tesco, the rest were all cheaper on the market giving a total saving of £2.38 - a whopping 31 per cent cheaper - and if I had included all the market fruit and veg deals I would have saved even more. A case of "every little bit more expensive?"
A Tesco half-a-mile from the city centre will inevitably take trade away from the city centre - it only takes a few shops to close before the impact snowballs, people cease going into town, the market loses trade and all we are left with in St Albans is a Tesco.
A case of "every little bit more destructive?" Ian Langford, Orient Close, St Albans.
David Dorking who lives clear across town from the Evershed site also felt strongly enough to write to the Herts Ad. He said:
"You have to give Tesco credit for blatant audacity in presenting a scheme that not only gives them a major store, unwanted by many St Albans residents but at a stroke would see the demolition of most of the locally-listed buildings around the site, the widening of London Road to cope with the extra traffic and the creation of a pretty awful environment for those houses left around the site.
The buildings in London Road, Alma Road and Inkerman Road were listed for very good reasons. They identify the character and community of this part of the city and have individual and group value. To allow their loss for the sake of yet another supermarket and an extra few houses would be one of the grossest acts of vandalism.
The Evershed's site was identified by our council for residential development and so it should be - totally - to protect the community, the houses around it and to take some pressure off the Green Belt land. David Dorking, Hill Street, St. Albans
In a letter published in last week's Herts Advertiser, Peter Baker of Salisbury Avenue, St. Albans, criticised the St. Albans Civic Society for offering, what he feels, has "nothing but criticism of any new major development in St Albans." He wrote:
"Now we see, even before Tesco's exhibition and proposals for the site in London Road have gone on view, they are there again objecting to development of a derelict site which, as it falls into a further state of disrepair, is only inviting undesirable characters, creating further problems for the police and local community."
Whilst this website has no direct connection to the Civic Society, nor is it supported in any way by them, we found it a bit odd that someone would criticise the Civic Society for helping organise a meeting to alert local people to the imminence of Tesco unveiling it's plans. We know of several people who, if it weren't for that meeting, wouldn't have known about the Tesco exhibition. In fact, there are probably dozens of us in that boat.
This week, again in the letters pages of the Herts Ad, Mr. Baker got several responses:
"What planet is St Albans Civic Society on, asks Peter Baker. He himself is perhaps writing from Planet Naive. Both the Odeon and the Tesco sites are, as he points out, derelict. Why is this? Because their owners have let them get into this state. It's common for developers to seek public support by claiming that their scheme will clean up an eyesore of their own making. And Tesco are already claiming that their unwanted store will clean up their own-brand urban blight. The sickening thing is that deliberate dereliction is allowed to happen - does our district council have no powers to stop this sort of thing, or do they just lack the will?" Peter Sutton, Cell Barnes Lane, St. Albans
"As regards the Tesco development, we make no apology for organising a pre-emptive strike over the consequences for the city's shops, market and traffic levels if the Evershed's site were to become a supermarket. That's called forward planning." Eric Roberts, St. Albans Civic Society
"Objections were made to the Tesco development even before the plans were published because many of us believe that a huge supermarket near the city centre is the wrong development in the wrong place. We do not want our roads choked by large lorries and cars coming to an unnecessary supermarket, using prime land for car parking. We do not want Victorian houses in the Conseravtion Area to be destroyed for this. We all know why the Evershed's site and surrounding area is in such a dreadful state. Tesco bought it piece by piece over the years, then left the houses empty and neglected. Regeneration is essential. But that site needs vision and consultation rather than being the location of an unwanted supermarket. A hotel perhaps, as well as housing? Only five to 10 minutes walk from the station - a hotel would then be only 20 minutes journey from the St Pancras continental trains. But this is for the future. For the present we need to build the right cinema and to find a way of stopping the Tesco plans." Pat Hurford, Member of the Civic Society
I think many people will join me in expressing thanks for the considerable efforts on our behalf, both in the past and currently being made, by the officers and members of St Albans Civic Society so ably led by chairman Eric Roberts and wonderfully assisted by colleagues such as Marion Hammant and so many others who are totally committed to fight against the desecration of St Albans. We salute them all and only hope that their efforts will be rewarded by our elected representatives on the council when considering the contentious and ill-considered planning applications currently in the pipeline. Philip Webster, Townsend Drive, St. Albans
[Please note: The appearance of quotes above does not in any way imply that the authors of those letters support or are involved in this website. We provide links to them for the sole purpose of helping those who wish to become better informed about the debate surrounding Tesco's development plans for the Evershed site in St. Albans.]
You can submit your own letter to the Herts Advertiser here.
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