Homelessness at Christmas

Season's Greeetings to you all!

The issue of homelessness is one that comes up regularly at Christmas. This BBC article reports a study by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors that shows over 760,000 houses are empty across the UK - while about 10% of that number of people are homeless or in temporary accommodation.

We know that Tesco's houses in London Road and Inkerman Road are contributing to this number of empty properties (and there may be a lot more in Tesco landbanks around the country, unfortunately). Remember Tesco promised in February to 'renovate six of the homes it owns in May or June, and all should be occupied by tenants by the end of this year.'

Obviously this has not happened.

You may ask how this fits with Tesco's pledge to 'be a good neighbour and run a business that is responsible, honest and fair'? Tesco must sort its act out quickly - and we need to keep urging St Albans District Council to make sure that it keeps its promises.

If you would like to help homeless people this Christmas, here's a link to Shelter's Christmas campaign!

Tesco Apologises for Three Year Delay (but not here!)

The Manchester Evening News has a story that should be a warning to anyone who thinks Tesco is really interested in communities! In the story Tesco's man in St Albans Nick Gellatly apologises for a massive delay in building a new GP surgery next to a new supermarket. The promised surgery was apparently a major factor in gaining local support for Tesco.

The medical practice manager is quoted as saying,

"The job was supposed to take only six months but not a spade has been lifted. We can't spend any money on improving the surgery, which is in an antiquated house, because we are waiting for the new building."

So, a couple of lessons here - Tesco shows again that it can't stick to timetables, and it also shows that we need to be very careful about any promised 'community' benefits that might be used to swing support behind a new supermarket!

Anne Main MP Makes A Statement

Our MP, Anne Main, issued the following statement today... we do like the phrase 'living under a Tesco cloud'!

“Whilst it is good news that Tesco has decided to rule out going down the potentially expensive route of appealing the Council’s decision on its plans, many of us had hoped that the refusal would mark the end of Tesco’s involvement in this location, and that other uses could now be considered for the former Eversheds site.

"I hope that the Council will refuse any new proposal which is not appropriate as an unsuitable development here could have damaging implications both in terms of its impact on the conservation area and on pollution in the vicinity. For years, St Albans has been blighted by this scruffy development site. This problem must be sorted.

"On a positive note, I welcome the news that some action will finally be taken to redevelop the properties owned by Tesco on London Road as these have been left empty for too long. A similar scheme for the properties in Inkerman Road needs to follow as residents there are living under a Tesco cloud which is very damaging.”

There's No Appeal, but Tesco Isn't Going Away!

Mixed news from the Herts Advertiser today. The paper has finally got an admission from Tesco's Nick Gellatly that Tesco will not be appealing against the council's rejection of its inital plans. This must come as a relief to councillors who will not be faced with funding an appeal. It presumably also reflects the fact that Tesco would find it very difficult to overturn such a comprehensive rejection.

However, we're not finished yet. Mr Gellatly then talks about 'initial proposals for a new scheme which is expected to be ready early in 2009', justifying his comments by claiming that there 'is a huge amount of support for a new supermarket close to the city centre'.

At this point we'd really urge Tesco not to waste its time and money going through the processes of 'consultation' exercises only to produce another unwanted plan - the people of St Albans made it quite clear last year that they don't want a supermarket on this site - they want housing and a school. If there is clear need for a supermarket, it is obvious that one should be built right in the City Centre, where it would be accessible by public transport and not drag people away from the centre.

Finally, Mr Gellatly tries to use recent changes in economic circumstances to try to justify his position, claiming that the store would be 'boost for the city in terms of new jobs'. We know this is getting a bit repetitive, but research shows that new supermarkets COST jobs (that's where Tesco's profits come from) and we know that these jobs would be lost from the City Centre retail area.

PS - our spellchecker keeps wanting to replace Gellatly with 'Flagellate' - then again, being a bit of a masochist could be seen as an essential quality for being Tesco's PR man in St Albans!

More Good News from Cambridge

Regular readers will recall that Tesco has been facing a massive amount of opposition to plans to open a store in Mill Road Cambridge. We've had another update from Ruth of the No Mill Road Tesco campaign with some excellent news. She writes...

'We thought you'd like to know that the planning inspector has dismissed Tesco's appeal against Cambridge council's refusal of an extension and plant back in March. He has dismissed it on the grounds that "both of the realistically available servicing options would pose unacceptable risks to highway safety".

This is excellent news because it means that even if Tesco go ahead with their next appeal, against another refusal (for plant only) in July, they will still have this same problem. We don't want to get carried away, but it's hard to see how Tesco can now open a store on this site. Even the local paper's editorial today described Tesco's attempt to open up on Mill Road as "doomed". So, there are lots of happy people in Cambridge today!'

Congratulations from us all!

Tesco Appeals in Hertfordshire (in Hertford not St Albans!)

The Hertfordshire Mercury reports that Tesco is appealing to the Planning Inspectorate over its plans to double its store in Hertford. Our new friend Nick Gellatly is quoted - regular readers of this blog can probably already imagine the spin he's putting on a very unpopular plan!

(PS Nick - any plans for St Albans? You've only a month or so to appeal here.)

Devon Knows Why Tesco Has Been Rejected Again...

Another blow to Tesco! Devon24 reports that Tesco has been refused permission to extend a store in Exmouth. One of the reasons apparently was the 'potential to damage the town centre'.

(PS - the article once again repeats Tesco's claim that a new supermarket creates jobs. We've pointed out many times that research shows that hiring people to work in a supermarket does not do this - it displaces existing jobs and ends up reducing local employment. Just think about it - if Tesco were right, we could solve UK unemployment tomorrow just by building 10,000 new supermarkets and there would be no need for schools, universities and so on!)

Bridlington Says No To Tesco To Save Shops

This article from the Bridlington Free Press reports yet another case where the likely damage to local business has led a council to reject a Tesco store. It reports a local shopkeeper as saying,

"If Tesco had come in, it would have led to job losses and shops closing. In some way it would have affected not just us, but the greengrocers, the bakers, the newsagents".

Exactly what we fear in St Albans!

PS - it's nearly 4 months since the Tesco application was rejected - what is Tesco up to????

Tesco, Squatters and More Spin...

In an article in today's St Albans Review, Tesco admits that its London Road houses are being lived in by squatters - and then tries to squirm out of the problem.

Rather than a comment from Nick Gellatly (gone already?), Tesco wheel out spin-doctor Eben Black, Head of Media (Global Government Relations) (wow!) at consultants DLA Piper to try to solve the problem. Eben tells the newspaper that Tesco cannot do anything without planning permission.

Hang on a minute! Didn't Tesco say in February that 'it will renovate six of the homes it owns in May or June, and all should be occupied by tenants by the end of this year.' No mention of it needing planning permission then.

Councillor Robert Donald also picked up on this - and is pressing ahead with an Empty Dwelling Management Order. Tesco really isn't helping the local area, is it?

Kissman Lives - in Harrogate

For those who wondered what had happened to Tesco's Michael Kissman (replaced by Nick Gellatly in St Albans!), we've found this article in the Harrogate Advertiser. Before clicking on the link, we feel you need to be aware that you might experience a massive feeling of deja vue.

Having recieved negative feedback on Tesco's first proposal, Mr Kissman is now putting forwards a new proposal for a '25 per cent smaller store' with a 'raft of improvements to the store's environmental credentials'. The new store will 'create over 360 jobs for local people' and '[clear] up an eyesore'.

Sounds very similar to St Albans, doesn't it - and we do hope that Mr Kissman doesn't resort to recycling press releases again to save time.

(PS - for the benefit of those in Harrogate, our response to the claims was:

• Smaller store - still too big, and with the option to expand it still there.
  
• Environmental improvements - tokenism, with no real attempt to solve real environmental issues. For example Tesco suggested a very short bike lane that petered out 100 metres from the store while promoting more car use by suggesting a store away from public transport with a 476 place car park!
  
• Jobs for local people - supermarkets of course don't create jobs - they cost hundreds of local retail jobs and suck money from the local economy to Tesco Head Office.
  
• Solving an eyesore - one that Tesco created of course...)
  

Hertford says No as well

It's not proving a good month for Tesco's planners. Following their knock-back in Sheringham and the recent spat with St Albans District Council, the supermarket giant's plans for Hertford have been rejected.

You may remember that Tesco's plan was to knock down an existing store and build one twice the size - something that we were worried about Tesco doing in St Albans given the size of car park it proposed!

However, as the Hertfordshire Mercury reports, East Herts Council's development control committee has unanimously rejected the proposal following thousands 0f objections from local people.

More from Nick... this time it's Inkerman Road that isn't being regenerated

Further to the post below about the London Road properties, we've come into possession of a letter from Nick Gellatly (the 'new Michael Kissman' - see below) to local MP and Stop Tesco supporter Ann Main about the Inkerman Road properties. There is of course no news - the properties here will also stay empty despite local demand while Tesco spend more time working out what to do next. Again, we have to wonder at why a huge company had no plan for dealing with the rejection of its deeply unpopular planning application, and consider the costs that Tesco's landbanking is adding to our shopping bills.

The letter does also give Nick's address, so if you would like to ask him any questions directly, please write to him at Tesco Stores Ltd, Tesco House, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Herts, EN8 9SL.

Dear Mrs Main,

I am writing in response to your recent letter regarding the properties on London Road, St Albans that are currently owned by Tesco.

Further to this letter, we will meet with council officers this week to discuss a new standalone planning application for the London Road properties. Following this meeting, well work to submit a planning application for these properties as soon as we can.

With regard to the properties on Inkerman Road, these properties have been vacant for a considerable length of time since they were to be demolished as part of the larger scheme. Since we are currently considering our options following the Council's decision to reject the larger scheme, I'm not able to provide further information on these properties at this stage. However, t will inform you as soon as Tesco is in a position to outline its intentions for the site.

Once again, many thanks for your continued interest and please don't hesitate to get in touch should you require any further information.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Gellatly

Corporate Affairs Manager

In Which St Albans Council Gets A Bit Annoyed with Tesco....

We've had a press release passed on to us by local councillor Michael Green (thanks, Michael!) concerning the latest meeting between Tesco and St Albans Council over the London Road houses.

As well as the discussion over the houses (which we'll get to soon), it appears that Tesco's Michael Kissman will no longer be dealing with St Albans. Unfortunately, the press release doesn't give much hope that his replacement Nick Gellatly will be any more receptive to the people of St Albans (Nick - if you read this and want to change our minds or talk to us, please email us at tescocampaign@yahoo.co.uk).

Back to the discussion about housing - there's a bit of guff at the top about the current situation, but we can see the real opinion of the council in this quote from Cllr Robert Donald,

"[Tesco] had indicated that they expected that two properties would be let by the end of August 2008 with four more becoming available by the end of this year. This will not now be the case. I regarded the reasons given for this not happening as both disappointing and unsatisfactory. I made it clear that as a result Council officers would urgently need to consider again using their Empty Dwelling Management Order powers to ensure real progress is rapidly made. I have now formally asked that Council officers start using these powers.'

Tesco's defence appears to be that the properties were part of its bigger development, and that because the council rightly failed to pass the ridiculous plan should not expect Tesco to do anything else to the houses. This argument appears very weak. Firstly Tesco should have foreseen the strong possibility of the rejection of the planning application and secondly, it has had almost 3 months since the planning meeting to do something to the houses or at least put in a planning application (avid viewers of TV shows such as 'Property Ladder' will have seen lots of houses restored in far less time..).

So, another example of why we can't trust what Tesco says, another unreasonable delay in moving the area forward - and, with several hundred people homeless in St Albans and many more looking for affordable accomodation, another example of how Tesco's landbanking and failure to respect local people's wishes is damaging St Albans.

The full press release is below...

Press Release: St Albans City and District Council met with Tesco

St Albans City and District Council met with Tesco on 11th September to discuss the properties in London Road which form part of the proposed Tesco development site.

Tesco has told the District Council that they will submit a separate planning application to improve the vacant properties.

The Council acknowledged the work that Tesco has already undertaken to clear rubbish from the site and keep the properties secure and gardens tidy. Tesco also worked with Oaklands College to provide art on the windows of the properties to make them attractive, rather than boarding them up. At the meeting Tesco agreed to freshen up some paintwork and talk to Oaklands College about the possible provision of additional murals.

Cllr Robert Donald, Leader, commented: “I am very concerned at the continued vacancy of the properties on this site. At the meeting on 11th September I conveyed my understanding from our discussions earlier this year that Tesco would carry out refurbishment of their vacant existing properties in London Road so that they could be let as soon as possible. They had indicated that they expected that two properties would be let by the end of August 2008 with four more becoming available by the end of this year. This will not now be the case. I regarded the reasons given for this not happening as both disappointing and unsatisfactory. I made it clear that as a result Council officers would urgently need to consider again using their Empty Dwelling Management Order powers to ensure real progress is rapidly made. I have now formally asked that Council officers start using these powers.

Not only do we need to make this accommodation available for those in housing need in the district as soon as possible, rather than possibly in 18 months time, but residents and visitors alike deserve to have this important gateway into the City tidied up now.”

Nick Gellatly, Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager commented: “These properties had originally been ear-marked for demolition but following consultations we agreed to retain and refurbish them as part of the store development. The required planning permission for this work was part of the overall store application and was rejected by the council along with the store itself on June 30. However, we will now be submitting a stand-alone planning application to bring these buildings back into residential use."

Since St Albans City and District Council rejected the planning application from Tesco at the end of June 2008, the site has remained vacant and the properties empty. The application was for a 6,430 sq ms superstore with café including 7 shop units, 477 car parking spaces and the change of use of six commercial premises for residential purposes.

Another meeting will take place in October to review progress.


Note to Editors:
An Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) is an Order that once approved gives the Council the right to possession of the property without affecting the owner’s rights of ownership. Once an EDMO has been made, the Council is entitled to possession of the property and to manage it. This initially involves working with the landlord to agree a way of getting the property back into use.


UPDATE: The story has now been covered by the St Albans & Harpenden Review here.

Tesco Defeated in Sheringham

News has reached us that Tesco has lost a major planing battle in Sheringham, Norfolk. One of our supporters who is from Norfolk and knows the story well told us 'there are some similarities to St Albans in terms of the effect on the city'. Here's the way the local paper reported the story.

And here's the best bit from the article...

Nigel Dowdney, independent store owner in Stalham and Earlham and a member of the Association of Convenience Stores, said concerns about damage to competition were often discussed but not given enough weight by the government.

He said: "There is a feeling the government is changing the goalposts slowly but surely and this decision is a major step forward for communities and a major setback for Tesco.

"The planning inspectorate is finally beginning to stop, listen and look at the evidence.

"It is a proven fact, the building of a supermarket has a detrimental effect on all sorts of local businesses, not just food stores."

News From Cambridge

Ruth from the 'No To Mill Road Tesco' campaign writes to let us know that they have won another round of their campaign to stop Tesco opening up another store in Cambridge. Find out more about their work here.

Tesco Split London Road Houses from Main Application

The Herts Advertiser reports that St Albans District Council has now received a letter from Tesco..... unfortunately it doesn't say that Tesco is withdrawing its application, but it does claim that it is prepared to split the issue of the derelict London Road houses from the main application.

This is a good first step towards the refurbishment of these houses - but it should be noted that Tesco has promised great things in the past - such as 'renovating all the houses in May or June' as Pete Milne pointed out a couple of posts ago. Plus it would be very difficult to justify leaving the houses to get worse for months while Tesco has a think about its next steps!

We'll keep watching, of course, and hope that Cllr Brazier is equally vigilant...

MP takes up Peter's message

Following on Peter Milne's letter to the local papers last week, our local MP Anne Main has taken up the challenge of dealing with Tesco's houses on London Road. Today's Herts Advertiser reports that she has written to both Tesco and the local council 'to ask them to take action over the houses in London Road'. The paper also reports that Cllr Chris Brazier of St Albans District Council is meeting Tesco later in the month to discuss the issue.

On behalf of many local people we'd like to thank Anne for doing this - and hope that there is soon some good news from Tesco. We will of course push for full disclosure of any meeting and let you all know what happens!

Questions of Time

As we've now reached a month since Planning Referrals with no news from anywhere really (and given that UK plc is closing for business over the summer), we've had a look around and come up with some timings...

1) Tesco actually has just under five months left to appeal (an application can be lodged up to six months after rejection; see here for more details). That means (unfortunately) that Tesco can sit on its hands until December. However, during this time, there will be further developments in local planning issues and we will need your support. One example is...

2) Peter Milne has written an excellent letter to the Herts Advertiser (we've reprinted it below) concerning Tesco's derelict houses on London Road. Please take any opportunity to remind your local councillors of the importance of chasing Tesco up - and the damage the lack of repairs is still doing to London Road. As pointed out by many speakers at the Planning meeting, London Road is one of the main gateways to the City - and having derelict houses lining it gives a poor image from the start to any visitors.

SIR -

The Tesco-owned houses in London Road have been a disgrace to St Albans for years. Tesco have done a token tidying up but they are still boarded up and decaying. Three years ago the district council started talking about restoring the houses under new powers but have done nothing, as the following press clippings show:

September 16, 2005 - The council says it is looking to use an amendment to the Housing Act which comes into force this autumn allowing it to manage (the London Road houses) with a view to providing accommodation for tenants on the housing register.

January 5, 2006 - A council spokesman said: "There are two areas we are exploring. Under section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act we can make efforts to tidy up the appearance of the area..... Cllr Robert Donald has also written to Verulam Properties, a subsidiary of Tesco which owns the properties, to request that action is taken to improve their appearance."

June 19, 2006 - Council leader Robert Donald has pledged to take action over the empty homes and shops in London Road if the stymied supermarket scheme does not progress this year.

October 15, 2007 - .... district council planning chief Chris Brazier .... is asking council officers to use the 2004 Housing Act to take over the properties temporarily.

February 19, 2008 - (Tesco) says it will renovate six of the homes it owns in May or June, and all should be occupied by tenants by the end of this year.

Well now it's nearly August and there's no sign of any renovation - and since Tesco lost their planning application who would believe they intend to do anything? Their inhabited houses in Alma Road remain badly neglected, even though Tesco claim they no longer want to demolish them.

Now is the time for the council, and Robert Donald in particular, to fulfil their promises over the last three years to use their powers to bring the houses back into use and send Tesco the bill.

PETER MILNE,

Alma Road, St Albans.

Property Week Links St Albans to Government Planning Changes

This article appeared today in Property Week. As well as a potted version of Tesco's rejection, it also lends weight to the idea that recent Government proposals to protect town centres may help St Albans reject Tesco's plans.

There's still no news from Tesco though, by the way...

Two Weeks Later - What Is Tesco Doing?

It's not that much of a surprise given 8 years of delay, but noone has heard a peep from Tesco yet in terms of what they want to do next with the London Road site. General opinion is that it will appeal the council's decision, but does it really want to create even more unpopularity?

Another way of creating unpopularity of course, is to annoy valued customers. A reader emailed this story to us recently about his experiences...

'Tesco have become so wealthy and powerful that they are living on a different planet from their customers - especially those who are disabled. My wife has to use a wheelchair and asked the other day to be taken to Tesco to do her shopping. On our return home I found that I had been fined £70.00 for using a disabled parking bay - even though the arrangements for my wife's visit had been made the day before and the wheelchair had been supplied by the store! Shop at Tesco and be treated like a criminal!
"PS. Not that their anti-disabled policy has done them much good. Five of us meet at Tesco every week to do our shopping: business worth about £25,000 per annum to the store. From next week, of course, this will be spent elsewhere.
"Good luck with your campaign. Decent society can manage without Tesco and their like."

This Sounds Like Good News!

Is the Government set to change its attitude to supermarkets? We're not suggesting that there's going to be a massive shift, but this article from the People does report Communities Secretary Hazel Blears as saying,

"Popping down to the local grocer's or baker's is more than just shopping. It is where people meet and identify with their community. That's why I am strengthening planning rules to better protect them."

If this is carried through this should help our case further. St Albans Council officials were unwilling to advise against Tesco's plans on the grounds that they would damage other shops, although councillors voted to add this. Hopefully, these new planning rules can be used to support the councillors' views.

We Won! 10 Reasons Why The Council Said No!

Around 300 people attended the Alban Arena tonight to witness a major step forward for our campaign and the future of St Albans. Tesco's plan was rejected on 10 grounds, with two being added during the debate! The application rejected on the following grounds (quickly paraphrased!):

1. The plan does not reflect local distinctiveness, is not integrated with its local context, and harms the visual amenity of the street scene.

2. It includes the loss of locally listed buildings

3. The development would have a negative impact on highway safety, capacity and free flow of traffic.

4. The entrance gates to the servicing area interfere with free and safe flow of traffic.

5. The development would overshadow and overdominate 3-27 Alma Road and cause harm to the residential amenity of the people living there.

6. The size and extent of the car park would harm the amenity of local residents through noise and disturbance.

7. The potential of risk of pollution to 'controlled waters'

8. The harm to community facilities caused by the increase in living space.

9. The effect of traffic on air quality

10. The principle of the vitality of the City Centre.

Thanks to Ian Langford, Peter Trevelyan of the St Albans Civic Society and Cameron Lavin of the Whitecroft Residents Association who spoke during the 10 minute public session. A massive thanks to the councillors from all political parties who raised key issues and spoke against the development.

Above all, thanks to you all for your support...

HOWEVER,

As Churchill said, 'this is not the end, it is not the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning'. We have shown that Tesco can be defeated, but it now has a number of options - it can appeal the council decision or it can bring forward another application. Either option will need renewed opposition - we will let you know all developments and what you can do to continue to support the Stop Tesco campaign.

UPDATE: Here's the St Albans Review's immediate report!

Tonight's The Night!

Please make every effort to show your support for the campaign tonight at the council Planning Meeting. Please be at the Alban Arena by 7pm (we'd suggest arriving a few minutes early as there may be a lot of people).

If you can't make the event, but have access to a PC, you can follow the live webcast which you can link to from www.stalbans.gov.uk (click on 'Planning Meeting Webcasts').

PS - thanks to BBC 3 Counties Radio and Chiltern Radio for talking to us about tonight!

Isn't This the Best Place for a Supermarket?

The Herts Advertiser reports that the site of St Albans Police Station is up for sale. We've already written to the District Council asking for them to consider this as the best place for a medium-sized supermarket that will meet the needs of the growing City, while being extremely well placed for public transport. The site is just opposite the Maltings car park and very close to the main bus exchange.

This would leave the London Road site free for the housing and primary school that is needed in the area! And with a high likelihood that we'll get a sensible cinema design for the centre soon, we could solve three of the major problems affecting St Albans in one fell swoop.

If you think this would be a good idea, why not let your local councillor know!

UPDATE: Chris has emailed to suggest the London Road site as ideal for a police station with the school and affordable housing behind it - what do you think?

Local Traders Saved as Tesco Rejected

In what must be a hopeful omen for our case on Monday, local councillors in Worcester have rejected a Tesco plan - this time on the grounds that local traders would suffer from a new Tesco.
The Worcester Standard reports one local trader, David Jones, as saying,

"Shutters are already pulled down and shops are permanently closed - and Tesco would just force even more to shut".

Barack Obama - Tesco's Latest Enemy?

Tesco appears to have provoked the ire of the man who could well be the next US president. The Guardian reports that Barack Obama has written to Tesco CEO Terry Leahy 'to urge the UK grocer to start talks with a US trade union over workers' rights at its new California-based business'.

Senator Obama is apparently unimpressed that Tesco's American workers are not entitled to contracts, which means they could be dismissed without warning, and that staff have to count sick leave as holiday.

Message of Support from our MP

Thanks to Anne Main MP for sending us this message.

Dear All,

I just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, I will not be able to be present at the planning meeting on Monday 30th when the Tesco proposal will be decided. I do not usually attend these Council meetings, but obviously when there is a big decision such as this I do my best to attend. Nevertheless, I have just received the Parliamentary business for Monday and it appears that we will be voting late into the night, as we often do, so I will be obliged to be in Westminster .

I hope that, in making their decision, the Council pays attention to the pollution and retail needs studies, as well as the potential of this development to “suck the life” out of St Albans, and squarely refuses this proposal. My understanding from recent conversations is that an officer at the Council is recommending a refusal of the plan and I hope that the committee accepts this recommendation.

I congratulate you on running such a good campaign against this proposal. However, as with many of these large proposals, I would anticipate that Tesco will appeal if the proposal is thrown out, and in that event we need to make sure that we get all our representations to the Planning Inspectorate to ensure they are aware of the strength of feeling in our community about this, and the strong arguments for the proposal to be rejected.

With best wishes,

Anne Main MP
Conservative Member of Parliament for St Albans
House of Commons

It's Actually 1,200 Letters of Objection from 1,400 People! (Still 2 (that's just 2) In Favour)

Thanks to all of you for putting your opposition to Tesco in writing - and of course to Pete who spent the morning counting them in the Council Offices.

He reports that there are 1,200 letters and emails - and that 15% of them have more than one signature, making over 1,400 objectors in total. He's also had a go at analysing a sample - as you can see from the graph below, traffic and the damage to local trade are the biggest problems.


(PS - there are still only two letters in favour - one focuses on the need to sort out London Road as soon as possible. We agree that something needs to be done - but disagree that Tesco should benefit from creating the problem in the first place!)

'Largest Irish Tesco' Rejected

As if Tesco wasn't having enough trouble in England, the Irish Planning Service has dealt it another blow by rejecting a 130,000sq ft store at the Bridgewater Park complex near Banbridge in Northern Ireland, reports the BBC. Again, the biggest issue was the potential damage to small local traders.

Local Traders Association spokesman Joe Quail said,

"If this application had been successful then our town would have been ruined with the loss of hundreds of jobs and the closure of many local independent retailers in the town centre who would have been unable to compete with such a vast store."

Appeal Upgraded - Let's Pack the Arena!

The Herts Advertiser prints the news today that the Tesco planning committee meeting has been moved from the council's offices to the Alban Arena - thanks to the massive and overwhelming number of objections from local people (thanks to you all!)

The Arena seats over 800 people so there should be plenty of room to show Tesco our objections! There is no advance booking, except for disabled people who can contact the council in advance to reserve a seat - so please turn up and show your support.

The paper also updates the objections tally - the number of letters in favour of Tesco has DOUBLED - there are now TWO in favour - with over 1,000 still against of course!

Why Is Tesco Being Called A "Monolithic Chicken Abuser"?

A great letter to the St Albans & Harpenden Review today. Local reader Alex Walsh takes Tesco to task over its response to the campaign of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to improve battery chicken rights. He comments,

"I'm no hemp-wearing nettle tea-drinking hippy type, but I was outraged when I read in the pages of a Sunday newspaper that Tesco is charging [Fearnley-Whittingstall] £86,000 to put a question about the treatment of battery chickens to its shareholders - an action he is being forced to take because the monolithic chicken abusers won't actually talk to him directly.

"Is this really the sort of company we want operating in the heart of our fair city? I for one think not."

Thanks for the letter, Alex - and also thanks to Simon Grover of the St Albans Green Party for his letter rebutting Michael Kissman's comments in the paper 2 weeks before.

(If you'd like to find out more about Tesco and chickens, check out www.chickenout.tv here.)

Another Stop Tesco Group is Born..

We welcome the 'Shop Weston' group to the long line of groups that are fighting to stop Tesco spoiling their local area and causing retail carnage. The people of Weston-super-Mare are faced with 2 new 'Express' stores and are fighting back! Find out more here.

Defeated Tesco Sells Land On

In Darlington, having been denied planning permission three times, Tesco is finally selling the land it wanted to develop - reports the Northern Echo.

We hope this will be the solution in St Albans - Tesco will clear a good profit from the increase in land values over the past eight years and local people will get the housing and perhaps even the school that they clearly want!

And Tesco Keeps Losing!

Another day, another rejection for Tesco! The Maidenhead Advertiser reports that Windsor Council has unanimously rejected a plan for a Tesco in Sunninghill.

Interestingly, Tesco's plans had received 600 letters of objection - with only 2 in favour. We've heard from St Albans District Council that Tesco is even less popular here - they have over 1,000 letters of objection - and ONE in favour of Tesco!

Remember to keep the 30th June free - we want to show local councillors in St Albans the scale of our objection just as the people of Sunninghill did.

(Thanks to the Cambridge No to Mill Road campaign for tipping us of about this story!)

Who Would Live Next To Tesco?

The Norwich Evening News reports more bad news for some of Tesco's neighbours today. A small toy shop has been faced with a £5,000 bill for damage to the wall that separates it from Tesco. Despite making profits of billions of pounds a year, the supermarket was not prepared to accept liability for two incidents - and only paid up when its lorry was seen to hit the wall in a third case!

All those who still think that Tesco will benefit other retailers should read the other main point in the article...

'Just last week the Evening News told how some of the city's smaller retailers were struggling to compete with multi-national chains such as Tesco.

We found more than 40 former out-of-town outlets that had fallen by the wayside due to the monopoly of large supermarkets, the increasing number of chain stores in the city centre and the credit crunch'.

Tesco Defeated in Poynton - a good sign for us?

Another setback for Tesco, as the company finally withdrew its application for a store in Poynton, Cheshire today.

The news should give great heart to St Albans campaigners - as here, Poyton's campaign against Tesco was supported by the overwhelming majority of local people, local politicians and the local MP. As here, the objections included the threat to local businesses, local traffic issues, the loss of a petrol station and the unique feel of an historic area. As here, thousands of local people signed a petition against the development, and hundreds wrote letters of objection to the local council. We hope that Tesco will learn from this - there are places where the company is just not wanted!

The Macclesfield Express reports the story here. You can also find out more about the Poynton campaign here.

Over 1,000 Letters of Objection!

We're not sure about the total number yet, but we've been told that St Albans District Council now has more than 1,000 letters and emails opposing Tesco's development. Thanks to you all!

We Hear Tesco Again

After remaining silent throughout the time to make representations to St Albans City Council, who has popped up today but Tesco's Michael Kissman. Speaking to the thisishertfordshire website, he makes a final (?) appeal to local people. As before, we print his comments below, with our thoughts in red! Please also add your own comments...

"I would like to put the other side of the argument for why a new store, along with a car park for more than 500 cars, new shops and refurbished older buildings, which are all part of the plan, is a good thing for St Albans.

More than 500 cars? Tesco's plans are for 477 car parking spaces, the maximum allowed under planning conditions - has he read his company's proposal? More generally, we'd repeat our view that the store is far too big and will overall cost retail jobs and space that could be far better used! And of course, we surely don't need to point out that the only reason the buildings are in disrepair is because Tesco has owned them for 8 years!

"There has been a lot of talk about the new store affecting the market or the shopping area around it.

"The reality is that, at the moment, people drive out of St Albans to places such as Hatfield and London Colney for much of their food shopping. This new store would lead to them shopping closer to the city centre.

This is a highly specious argument. As our planning document clearly states, the people who drive to Hatfield and London Colney will be those who work in those areas or are travelling elsewhere - there are already lots of supermarkets in St Albans and noone is forced to travel out of town (expect perhaps late at night - and we don't think a 24-hour supermarket in London Road is going to happen!)

"That can only be of benefit to the local economy.

The local economy is doing very well at the moment. A new supermarket will cost loads of local jobs (remember independent research shows that 276 jobs are lost on average with a new supermarket). A new supermarket will also replace local shops and services (including the market) that recycle the majority of their takings locally with an store that sends 93% of its income to Tesco Head Office.

"People in St Albans are concerned about traffic, and so are we. It is not in Tesco's interests for customers to be unable to get to our store.

If you want customers to get to the store, why not build somewhere near public transport (by which we mean near local buses). Secondly, we don't want to be part of a traffic experiment - London Road is getting ever more crowded and pollution levels are rising.

"Ultimately the power over the future shape of shopping in St Albans does not lie with Tesco or even the councillors who will determine our application over the coming weeks. It lies with the people who make a choice over where they do their shopping. A new Tesco store in St Albans can only add to that choice."

This can be taken two ways - as a statement of fact, it ignores the right of local people to oppose unnecessary developments - there are planning laws and even Tesco has to obey them (even if it thinks it is bigger than this). An alternative way of looking at this is as an arrogant and offensive (not uncommon traits from Tesco, unfortunately) attack on local people and the local council - WE ARE RIGHT, he says! However, St Albans does not need to waste more time with an experiment to see if the supermarket works - we want to use the land NOW for housing and a school.


The article ends , 'people who want to raise their concerns with the council have until Friday, June 27, to respond before the decision goes before a planning committee.' This is not what we were told - but if you've not written and want to give it a go, please keep trying!

A New Date For Your Diary

Many thanks for your support over the past few weeks. We will provide an update on the number of objections submitted to the council as soon as we have it, but we know that hundreds of you helped to send a clear and unambiguous message - WE DON'T WANT TESCO!

BUT... it's not over! The next key date for the application is Monday 30th June, when the St Albans District Council Planning Referrals Committee will consider the application at 7pm. We'll need as many people as possible to turn up to that meeting and show the strength of local opposition. We'll provide further details closer to the time, but please keep the date free!

APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE...

Due to factors beyond our control the main stoptesco.com website is currently down and you've been redirected straight to the stoptesco blog page! We hope you can find all your information here - although it will not be possible at the moment for you to download our objections document.

Can we also take this opportunity to remind you that it's tomorrow or never if you want to object to Tesco's plans! Please scroll down for more information on how to do this.

NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESUMED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (ACCORDING TO OUR ISP ANYWAY...)

StopTesco.com Hits the Big 21 - That's 21,000 By The Way!

We've not published much in the way of statistics about this website for a while, but we're pretty pleased that just under 16 months from the first post (19th January 2007), we've come of age, with over 21,000 unique visitors now having made their way to this site. Over the past few weeks, we've been especially delighted by the number of new 'first-time' visitors - last Tuesday we had over 100 in one day for the first time! Thanks to you all for your support!!!!

STOP TESCO : WRITE RIGHT NOW!

We're running out of time! The deadline for your personal email or letter to reach the District and County Councils is THIS FRIDAY.

We have received huge support when going door to door, in the city centre and at the public meeting, BUT this will mean nothing to St Albans Council if you don't write a formal objection to Tesco's planned development - even if you signed the petition and put up a poster, please, please write!

Remember to include your name, full address and the planning reference numbers : 5/2008/0369 and 5/2008/0370. Then send the letter or email to:

The Head of Planning and Building Control, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Street, St Albans AL1 3JE or email planning@stalbans.gov.uk

For traffic issues, please copy John Wood, Head of Environment, Hertfordshire County Council, County Hall, Hertford SG13 8DE or email john.wood@hertscc.gov.uk

A reminder of our key objections, which you can refer to in your letter...

• This is not a City Centre site; it is a 750 metre walk from the centre. A supermarket would drain trade and vitality from our main St Peter’s Street shopping area, and be a real threat to the City Centre and our historic 1,000 year old markets. 83% of local businesses oppose Tesco.

• Traffic in the London Road area is already very bad. This will make it much worse, with 70% more lorries and cars on London Road. Even Tesco admits that air quality would be adversely affected – nitrogen oxide levels already exceed EU limits.

• It would have a damaging and irreversible effect on the character and tranquillity of a unique group of Victorian residential streets in the Conservation Area. They survived the wholesale clearances of the sixties: they don't deserve noise and light pollution now.

• Once on site, Tesco may apply for extended opening hours – or, as in Hertford, to double the size of its building. It has to be stopped NOW!

• The Evershed’s site was once given planning permission for housing – there are much better uses for this site than a superstore. The area is one of the last big development sites left; the opportunity could be lost forever.

Thanks again for your continuing support.

PS - our 110-page submission to the council containing a forensic response to Tesco's application can be downloaded from here. Our planning team, especially Liz, Ian and Pete have produced a masterwork!

Is this Tesco's Attitude to St Albans?

Local resident Michael Pagan sends us this story of his experiences with Tesco this week:

'Last Friday I witnessed an incident which to me typifies Tesco's attitude to St Albans. Around 7 p.m. a Tesco home delivery van pulled up in the middle of Paxton Rd. The driver’s helper got out and went to the back to open the rear doors. Meanwhile the driver wound down his window, opened a package of some sort and threw the wrapper into the road. I asked his helper to pick it up which he did.

'I suppose we can’t really blame the driver; after all he’d probably just driven up London Road and seeing the dereliction caused by his company had concluded (correctly) that they don’t give a damn about the communities in which they operate. After all what is one piece of litter compared to boarded up houses, blighted roads and the future destruction of a town centre? Clearly Tesco has successfully communicated to all its employees that disdain towards its host communities for which it is fast becoming notorious.'

Please draw your own conclusions - and thanks to Michael for his support.

Why the Poll Looks Wrong...

Many thanks to everyone who has clicked on the poll on the right of the blog to say they've written to St Albans District Council. The reason why it looks empty again is that we've updated the date on the poll in line with the revised final date for letters of 16th May. Before we changed this the figures showed...

Yes, I have written - 45
No, but I will write - 31
No, I support Tesco - 6

So, please add these onto the total!

Today Ely, Tomorrow St Albans?

Is this a lesson for the future? The Ely Standard today reports Tesco's plans to extend its store in Ely in Cambridgeshire. Interestingly, the thrust of the plan involves removing car parking spaces and replacing them with more store space.

We've worried about the possibility of this happening in St Albans, if planning permission is given. We've discovered that the planned 477 car parking spaces in St Albans are actually the maximum allowed under planning guidelines for the proposed size of store. This gives Tesco the option in future to reduce the size of the car park and increase the store size. This of course would mean yet more local job losses, more competition for local businesses and the market, and probably more traffic, congestion and pollution.

Another reason to write NOW to STOP TESCO! (Oh, and hello Michael Kissman - good to see you still have a job!)

Petition Handed Over

Many people have been asking us over the past few weeks if they can still sign our petition. The answer, from now on, is no - because we've handed it in to the council.

On Friday last week (2nd May) representatives of Stop Tesco St Albans and the St Albans Civic Society handed the petition of 5,827 names to Gavin Cooper, the planning case officer who is responsible for Tesco’s planning applications, at St Albans District Council.

The petition, gathered over the last year, contains 5,137 physical signatures and 690 electronic signatures collected via the www.stoptesco.com website. It calls for the former Evershed’s site in London Road to be used for the benefit of the people of St Albans and specifically opposes any Tesco development.

Mike Dilke of Stop Tesco St Albans said:

‘The petition sends a message to the council that an overwhelming majority of local people are opposed to Tesco’s plans and want something better for London Road.

‘However, because petitions, even those as big as this one, are not legal objections to a planning application, we would urge everyone who signed the petition to write to the council or email planning@stalbans.gov.uk objecting to applications CA5/2008/0369 and 5/2008/0370 before the council’s extended cut-off date for objections of Friday 16th May.’


(The photograph shows Marion Hammant of the St Albans Civic Society and Mike Dilke of Stop Tesco St Albans with the petition outside the offices of St Albans District Council before the presentation)

Another Weekend of Campaigning

Thanks to the many volunteers who helped in the City Centre yesterday. Thanks also to Gary for the photos, and to local Liberal Democrat Councillor Michael Green who is the bloke in the leather jacket.

Tesco's Tax Web

Those wanting more news about the Guardian/Tesco libel case should read this update today in The Guardian. Assuming this article is correct, the libel case may come down to whether it is more defamatory to be seem to be avoiding paying Corporation Tax or Stamp Duty Land Tax - and whether the amount of tax avoided is a reputation issue for a major corporation.

As we've said before about Tesco, and this applies just as much to its ongoing other libel suit in Thailand (here's the latest news on this), the issue for us isn't so much what Tesco does - it is the fact that it can afford to spend money on legal writs and tax avoidance that smaller shops can't.

Local newsagents, grocers and market traders would love to reduce their tax demands by using overseas companies and hiring expensive tax experts - but they can't afford to. Tesco can, and can then use the tax savings to both improve its massive profits, and cut prices to drive local competitors out of business. So there goes any sense of a level playing field...

Deadline extended! And another address to write to!

Great news! The deadline for objections to the Tesco development has been put back to 16th May! However, the Bank Holiday weekend would still be a great time to write!

ALSO: If you are objecting on traffic grounds, could you copy your letter to John Wood, Head of Environment, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertford, SG13 8DE or john.wood@hertscc.gov.uk as the County Council is the body that makes a recommendation on traffic issues. Thanks!

Help Us Tomorrow

We're going to be taking our message into St Albans this weekend - starting with a stall in the market tomorrow (Saturday). The stall will be just in front of the tourist information office near the gents' toilets (not that near...). We'll be there from 9.15am - please either turn up any time and help - or email tescocampaign@yahoo.co.uk if you can commit to a specific time.

Many thanks for your support!

Yet More Letters of Support

Many thanks to those who wrote to the Herts Advertiser today to show their support for the campaign - click here to find letters from local residents Tim Randall, Ian Langford, V.Wing, John Bailey and Alison Redcastle.

Great Support At Public Meeting

It was standing room only at the Trinity URC Church in St Albans earlier this evening (Tuesday 29th April) as campaigners, politicians and local residents met to discuss the latest news about Tesco's London Road development and to show solidarity in opposing it.

Speaking at the meeting were:

Mike Dilke of Stop Tesco St Albans: In introducing the meeting, Mike spoke of the importance of the campaign focusing on finding a positive outcome for the former Eversheds site, and not being just against Tesco's current plans. He also emphasised the importance of immediate action, with a tight deadline for objections to be made.

Simon Grover of St Albans District Green Party spoke of the impact of the planned superstore on local shops and the vitality of the City Centre. Simon talked about the negative impact of Tesco on four other UK cities. In one, Cirencester, a new Tesco in a position around as far from the centre as that proposed for St Albans led to a 38% decline in local retail stores. He also spoke of the impact of superstores on local economies - with money being sent to head office rather than being spent in the local area.

Cllr Roma Mills, Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, spoke of the impact on local people. She pointed out the massive local traffic problems and urged those present to write to Hertfordshire County Council as well as St Albans District Council to ensure that the County Council objected to the development vigorously on traffic grounds. She also spoke of the environmental degradation that a new supermarket would cause.

Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate spoke of his experience of campaigning in the area 20 years ago and the 'spick and span' houses owned by the Evershed family around the site - comparing them unfavourably to the current state of the area after 8 years of Tesco ownership. He also spoke of other campaigns around the country that successfully had opposed Tesco.

Nadia Davies, Conservative District Council Candidate, spoke of her experiences as a local resident, as well as the importance of using the site to ease St Alban's urgent housing needs. She also read out a statement from MP Anne Main, which concluded 'I am sure that most of you have already formally lodged your comments on the proposal with the Council, but if you have not I would urge you to do so as soon as possible. I sincerely hope that the Council feels, on balance, that it can refuse this proposal on good planning grounds.'

Ian Langford, one of Stop Tesco's planning volunteers, then shared some of the information he had obtained from Tesco's application. In particular, he argued that Tesco had significantly underestimated the problem of pollution in the area. To support this point, he produced figures that showed that Tesco's computer modelling of nitrogen dioxide levels in 2006 had underestimated the actual measured level by 18% and in doing so took the level under the EU 'safe' level. The same computer model was then used to derive even 'safer' figures for a 'post-Tesco' level. Unfortunately the computer model seemed to avoid pollution from stationary cars.

Mike Dilke then read out a message of support and encouragement from the Mill Road campaign in Cambridge - the campaign succeeded in preventing Tesco from opening an Express store in the city.

Peter Trevelyan of the St Albans Civic Society hosted a question and answer session, before Mike Dilke rounded off the event with a call to arms - and handed the Stop Tesco St Albans petition of over 5,800 names to the politicians present.

After the meeting, a number of volunteers signed up to deliver over 1300 extra leaflets and to help campaign in the City Centre. A significant amount of money was also raised to support further work. Thanks to all who attended!


UPDATE: Thanks to the Herts Advertiser for covering the event!

How Did This Get Here?

Sunday 7:29 pm 4/27/08 St. Albans, England
Originally uploaded by robinhamman

We know that lots of people have taken our leaflets and support the campaign - but how did this get into Tesco's in St Albans? Is there a mole? (Thanks for the photo Robin!)

What Local People Want Instead of Tesco

Over the past year we've had loads of comments and really useful ideas for making good use of the former Eversheds site suggested to us. We've taken some of them and overlaid them on pictures showing the last year of the Stop Tesco campaign. Click below to see them! (And thanks to Nick for doing this.)

Who's Coming to the Public Meeting?

We've finalised the list of speakers and expert guests for Tuesday's meeting. The meeting will be an excellent opportunity to find out more about Tesco's development and to ask questions of a wide range of experts. Please come along, even if you've never thought of yourself as a local activist! Although it may appear that a lot of people are speaking, we've asked them all to be brief and the meeting should take around an hour. (It's at Trinity URC Church, Beaconsfield Road at 7.30pm).

At the meeting we will be revealing the impact of Tesco's proposed development on local air quality. Representatives from all four political parties will show their support, and although MP Anne Main is unable to make the meeting as she is needed in the House of Commons, she has prepared a letter of support to be read out. We will then outline the key steps that we can all take to Stop Tesco and answer all of your questions!

Speakers will include:

• Simon Grover, St Albans District Green Party
• Cllr Roma Mills, Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate
• Sandy Walkington, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate
• Nadia Davies, Conservative Party
• Mike Dilke and Ian Langford, Stop Tesco St Albans
• Peter Trevelyan, St Albans Civic Society

PS - many thanks to the volunteers who are spending this weekend delivering thousands of leaflets and campaigning in the City Centre, and to the many market traders and residents who are displaying our new posters.

Please let us know if you're around to help next weekend - with the tight deadline for responses we need to get as many people out and about over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

Some Interesting Tesco Claims

Our planning team have spent the last couple of days poring over Tesco’s mammoth application. They’ve started to unearth some really interesting and highly controversial Tesco claims. We’ve listed some of the most amazing below…. although we’re sure we’ll have more of these by Tuesday’s public meeting.

1. Tesco claims the site is highly accessible by public transport, although no buses pass the store and the nearest bus stops are at least 300 metres away from the store. Tesco say they might try and get operators to change the routes and stops although buses currently avoid London Road because it is too congested. There’s also the problem of where to put a bus stop? Blocking the Tesco filter lane? Under the store? The report also regularly mentions the store closeness to the railway station as more evidence of accessibility to public transport. As local people we really don’t think that people will travel from Radlett, Brighton or central London by train to shop at Tesco St Albans!

2. Apparently Tesco says in the report that, "it cannot be disputed that the existing site is of extremely poor visual quality and is in dire need of redevelopment" – perhaps this might have something to do with 8 years of ownership and lack of investment by Tesco?

3. There has (apparently!) been extensive community engagement by Tesco (we’d heavily dispute this!) Tesco claims that Stop Tesco is 'operator specific' (i.e. is just against Tesco) – despite the fact that we’ve made it obvious from the start that we oppose ANY supermarket development on the site.

4. In a slap in the face for local people, Tesco claims that the 5,500 plus petition should carry little weight as its revised proposals demonstrate that it listened to Stop Tesco concerns and amended the scheme accordingly! A couple of points here - these were our concerns after the meeting, and the petition clearly states that people object to ANY supermarket development on the site. A slightly smaller supermarket than initially proposed does not invalidate the views of thousands of people!

5. Tesco also admits for the first time that its own first public consultation showed 63% of people against the store. And although they mention the second consultation exercise they undertook we can’t see any actual results in the application! They do claim that their business survey that showed 13 of 16 businesses supporting their application is valid – although this took place well before the petition was finished - surely they should have done the survey again once they had changed the design?

6. Finally for the moment, Tesco’s traffic assessment covers only Friday peak times, not Saturdays when everyone knows that London Road is busiest.

The Objections Have Started

Thanks to those people who have already written to register their objections to Tesco's development and copied us in at tescocampaign@yahoo.co.uk.

Janet Theakston has kindly let us post her comments, which cover many of the areas that local residents are very worried about. She wrote,

'I object to the Tesco proposal to build a supermarket on the old Eversheds site. There is no need for a further supermarket in St Albans - we are well served already. A supermarket where sited would draw custom away from the town centre, which, like other centre sites are underthreat from out of town shopping sites to the detriment of the heart of our historic city, which must be preserved. I object to the destruction of some of the houses/buildings in Alma Rd/London Road as being unnecessary and altering the character of the area.

'The traffic problems on the London Rd/Alma Rd junction are already terrible - I pass this junction twice daily on my way to the station - it is regularly blocked. Tesco's "solution" of an extra traffic lane on London Rd is a joke - it would do nothing to relieve the huge amount of extra traffic generated by a supermarket, certainly not massive delivery lorries. The noise, light and air polution would be awful.

'There could be so much better uses of that large site: housing, especially low cost housing for key workers in an expensive area would be great; also we need more primary school places - the housing on the old Oaklands College site will add to this need. This would be a much better site for a cinema/arts/theatre/community use development than the suggested site at the back of the Alban Area.

'Come on St Albans Council - think creatively - our lovely historic city is worthy of something much better than an unwanted and much opposed commercial development which will bring misery to those who live nearby. Be the ones that stand out against the Tesco land-grabbers and listen to what local people have to say. Sir Terry Leahy might not be impressed but St Albans residents will be! Please reject this proposal.'

Stop Tesco Announces Public Meeting

Next Tuesday (29th April), Stop Tesco will be holding a public meeting at Trinity URC Church, Beaconsfield Road, St Albans. The meeting will start at 7.30pm.

The meeting will provide an update on the campaign against Tesco, including brand new information about the increase in pollution that the proposed supermarket could cause. Local politicians will demonstrate their support and the petition of over 5,500 local people will be formally handed over.

The meeting will also give you a chance to take positive action against Tesco, including writing a formal letter of objection or volunteering to help in other ways.

Further details of speakers will be posted over the next few days - please watch this space!

New Tesco Store Cuts 33% of Jobs Weeks After Opening

We've been banging on for a bit about Tesco's claims to 'create' jobs, pointing out that all a new store does is to displace existing jobs, while transferring local money to Tesco's Head Office (where some of the money seems as if it will be used to pay redundancy for Tesco managers, ironically...).

In Nelson, Lancashire, the job losses are coming very quickly, but from Tesco itself, reports the Lancashire Telegraph. Within 'weeks' of a new store opening, 40 people, one-third of those hired, have been laid off. The comments beneath the article are interesting as well!

Tesco To Cut Jobs Locally

Not good news for Michael Kissman and his friends at Tesco's head office down the road in Cheshunt it appears. The thisismoney website reports that Tesco may cut 1 in 10 jobs there, 300 in total, with a focus on middle managers.

The article also repeats Tesco's claim that they 'create' jobs. People are becoming increasingly aware that a new supermarket merely transfers a proportion of existing retail jobs to shelf-stacking roles - there are far fewer people working in the grocery retail sector than there were before the rise of supermarkets!

Thanks to the volunteers of Stop Tesco for all your work over the last few days, especially...

1. Those who braved the wind to inform shoppers of Tesco's latest actions in the market yesterday

2. Our web designers who have updated www.stoptesco.com to make it very easy for people to object to Tesco's application, and added a countdown clock...

3. The designers who came up with our new posters (lovely colours...) and leaflets.

4. Our communications people who are arranging a public meeting for Tuesday week (29th April) - more details to come.

5. The planning team who are putting the final touches to our objections document.

6. All those who have made donations or volunteered to help over the next two weeks.

If you'd like to help us, please email us and let us know what you can do!

What You Can Do To Stop Tesco

Tesco's plan is finally in, and we need everyone to help us ensure that the council rejects it. Here are the key things you can do to help....

VIEW plans, Ref Nos 5/2008/0369 and 5/2008/0370 . (Click on the link to find them - or you can go to the Civic Centre Council Offices in person if you're in the area)

OBJECT, in writing, to The Head of Planning and Building Control, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Street AL13JE or email planning@stalbans.gov.uk giving your full name and address. Make use of the planning points below, and quote the reference numbers. The date by which objections must be received is 7th May 2008. Remember, if you don’t write, you waste all your previous campaigning efforts!

DISPLAY our campaign posters, which you can download here.

WRITE to the local papers, the St Albans Review and the Herts Advertiser, setting out your objections

VOLUNTEER to help the campaign by delivering leaflets or manning a city centre stall by clicking here

KEEP IN TOUCH. Keep visiting the website or sign up on the right of the blog for email updates.

WATCH OUT for the date of the crucial Plans Referral Committee meeting – and be there!


PLANNING POINTS - these are our key objections to the Tesco plan. You might want to use some of this information in your letter, but please don't just copy and paste it.

• Traffic in the London Road area is already very bad. This proposal will make it much worse, with 70% more lorries and cars on London Road. Air quality would be adversely affected – nitrogen oxide levels already exceed EU limits.

• A supermarket would drain trade and vitality from our main St Peter’s Street shopping area, and be a real threat to the City Centre and our historic 1,000 year old markets. 83% of local businesses oppose Tesco.

• It would have a damaging and irreversible effect on the character and tranquillity of a unique group of Victorian residential streets in the Conservation Area. Some houses are to be demolished. Over 5,500 local people have signed a petition against the development.

• Once on site, Tesco may apply for extended opening hours – or, as in Hertford, to double the size of its building. It has to be stopped NOW!

• The Evershed’s site was once given planning permission for housing – there are much better uses for this site which can truly revitalise the area and add to St Albans’ economic and social development, including a much-needed primary school. The area is one of the last big development areas left; the opportunity could be lost forever. Over 80% of local people polled by the St Albans Review opposed Tesco’s plans.

Many thanks!

A Story in which Tesco Shows that it lacks a Sense of Humour...

We've covered before the opposition to Tesco's plans to knock down houses in Liverpool to create a new superstore with attached Everton Football ground. Of course, the people living in these houses are not happy with the idea.

Today, one of them, Dot Reid, has come up with the impressive idea of applying for planning consent to knock down Sir Terry Leahy's house in Cuffley and build a 'community area', reports the BBC. She, quite reasonably, told the Beeb,

"These are more than just houses, they are homes. I have been living under the threat of losing my home for 18 months now and it is very stressful. I want Sir Terry to have a taste of what we have to put up with."

Rather than either acknowledging Mrs Reid's ingenuity or taking her situation seriously, a 'Tesco spokesperson' once again responded to individual concern by claiming the support of 'the majority'. He or she tells the BBC,

"This is just a publicity stunt*. Unlike this application, for our application we spoke to hundreds, if not thousands, of residents in Kirkby, the vast majority of whom recognise this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which will create 2,000 jobs**."

This, of course, invites two interesting questions.

Firstly, even assuming that most local people are on Tesco's side (and we know what its surveys are like...), why should the opinion of a few local people outweigh the right of someone to stay in their home of 18 years?

Secondly, does this mean that Sir Terry would go along with the plans if local residents think that converting his home into a community area would be a good thing?

To try to answer the second question, we've put a poll up on the right of the blog. If you think that turning Sir Terry's house into a community area would be the right thing to do, please tick one box. If you think he should be allowed to keep his house, tick the other. We'll send the results of the survey to Mrs Reid to see if they can be used to support her campaign.

Some notes:

* - Tesco's spin doctors may see this as a 'publicity stunt'. I doubt they would be so flippant if they were told that a house that they (or perhaps their mother?) had lived in for 18 years was being knocked down for another supermarket!

** - of course supermarkets don't 'create' jobs. People have always shopped for groceries, so jobs are just moved around and taken from existing retailers. In fact, as supermarkets provide efficiencies of scale, they need fewer and less skilled workers - research shows a new supermarket will on average cost 276 jobs. That's where Tesco's impressive profits come from.

UPDATE: The poll we did on this subject is now closed, but we have sent the results up to the campaign group in Liverpool. Of the 75 people who voted 89% (67) thought that the best use for Sir Terry Leahy's house would be a community area, while only 10% (8) thought it was best used as his house. So, Sir Terry, the community wants you out - will you go along with this?