the No Mill Road Tesco Campaign

Tesco appear to have installed an air conditioning or refrigeration system at the back of the shop.

There seem to be pipes coming out of the back (where we believe there used to be a window), leading up to the roof.

Tesco have been twice refused permission to install air conditioning when they applied.

We are seeking clarification on whether plant has indeed been installed at the back of the site, and if so, when formal confirmation was given to Tesco by the planning department that no further planning permission was needed, and any data supplied by Tesco to show that there would be no noise impacts from the plant.

David Howarth, Cambridge’s MP, has copied us in on a letter he has sent to Sir Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco.

Mr Howarth, who incidentally is also a lawyer, writes:

Dear Sir Terry

I was surprised and disturbed to read that Tesco plc is planning to ignore planning conditions that prevent deliveries to the front of the proposed new store in Mill Road, Cambridge. (See attached news story).

Is it really Tesco policy to ignore those planning conditions or laws it does not like? Is Tesco expecting the local authority to turn a blind eye to this proposed law-breaking?

If it is, I wonder whether Tesco would turn a blind eye if some of its customers decided that they did not wish to obey the law on shoplifting.

I hope you can reassure me on this matter.

Yours sincerely

David Howarth
Member of Parliament for Cambridge

We have received notification of an event which may of interest to some of our supporters.

“Join us on Saturday 1st August for the ShopLess Choir’s first outing, arriving at the Mill Road proposed Tesco site for 1pm. Wear pink!”

There will be a meeting at 7.45pm on Monday 3 August at St Philip’s Church, Mill Road, to discuss the current situation: what Tesco are doing, what the Council are doing, and what we can and should do. We hope that some of the local and County councillors will also be there. We are at another crucial stage in the long and continuing fight to keep Tesco off Mill Road.

Please circulate the flyer:

We have received notification of the Premises Licence hearing, which is to be held on Monday 17th August 2009, at 10am, at the Guildhall. It is a public meeting.

Objectors must notify the Assistant Licensing Officer <licensing@cambridge.gov.uk> by 7th August if you wish to attend or speak, “to amplify any points you have made in your written representation”.

Please contact us if you plan to speak.

A new poster you might wish to use, in the light of Tesco’s attempts to sell cheap booze in an area with an alcohol problem …

Click on the thumbnail below for the full-size version.

Here are two photos taken this morning from across the street which indicates the effect that deliveries to the front of the site would have on traffic (this was for the delivery of tarmac). This was at c.10.30am outside rush hour and also outside term time.

One photo shows the threat to cyclists in attempting to pass a vehicle standing on the pavement and sticking out into the road and the other just shows complete pandamonium.

raymond.brown@cambridge-news.co.uk

TESCO has vowed to make onstreet deliveries to its store in Cambridge’s Mill Road – despite warnings they could pose a danger to the public.

The supermarket has been warned by the Highways Authority, the Planning Inspectorate and Cambridge City Council not to deliver to the front of the store.

And ‘No Mill Road Tesco’ campaigners claim the company will be breaking the law and could face fines of up to £1,000 a day if it goes ahead with the plan.

But Tesco confirmed the company would make deliveries in the street, which is famed for its independent shops.

The News exclusively revealed that the Express store will open on Wednesday, August 26.

The plans were met with huge opposition when they were unveiled, including a 5,000-signature petition, street demonstrations and squatters who briefly turned the former Wilco shop into a social centre before they were evicted.

A No Mill Road Tesco campaign spokeswoman said: “Unlike other stores on Mill Road, this specific site has a planning condition preventing on-street delivery, as Tesco know.

“When the councillors refused Tesco planning permission in March and July last year, one of the reasons that they did so was because of the danger that Tesco’s 35 deliveries a week would pose to road safety.

“The government-appointed planning inspector dismissed Tesco’s appeal last November for exactly the same reason, that ‘the Mill Road delivery option would pose unacceptable risks to highway safety’.

“Both the planning inspector and the county council also said Tesco’s delivery cages would be dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists on Mill Road, because Tesco make so many deliveries every day.

“We are very interested to see that Tesco consider public safety, planning law, and the views of councillors and the Planning Inspectorate to be irrelevant to their business decisions. This is a matter we are pursuing through the appropriate channels.”

City council planning officer Peter Carter said: “There is a previous planning condition that deliveries cannot be made to the front of the shop.

If Tesco do deliver to the store at the front it may be a threat to safety and the council may have to enforce any alleged breach of planning conditions.”

A Tesco spokeswoman said: “We will deliver to the front of the store as the previous occupants did and as do most retailers on Mill Road.”

A spokesman for the county council, the highways authority, said: “There is an old planning condition that still stands that they cannot deliver out front, and on top of that there is no waiting and no deliveries allowed at peak times.”

Published in the Cambridge News, 24th July 2009

Dear supporters,

As you probably know, Tesco have now said that they will open on Mill Road on 26 August, and are in the process of fitting out the site. However, they still have no way to make the deliveries they need legally and safely, and they have still not shown that they can open legally without further planning permission. We now have evidence that they are planning to ignore these problems, in the hope that no-one will challenge them. They are wrong.

Tesco have now confirmed, in writing, that they are planning to deliver to the site by stopping on Mill Road. This would be a breach of the planning conditions attached the site, and would ignore the judgement of the council and the planning inspector that this would be dangerous for everyone else because of the way that Tesco make deliveries.

We have asked the council to deal with these problems urgently, but we are also taking legal advice about our next steps. This means that we need money and although we have some money in the campaign’s account, further funds are required so we can continue getting legal advice and taking action. So, we are asking everyone who wants to keep Tesco off Mill Road if they can make a contribution. You can donate at Libra Aries on Mill Road, or send a cheque made payable to the MILL ROAD SOCIETY and sent to Libra Aries Books, 9 the Broadway, Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 3AH. All donations, however large or small, will help us to keep fighting Tesco on Mill Road.

Finally, thank you to everyone who took the time to send in objections to the alcohol licence application. We will let you know when the date of the hearing is confirmed.

Tesco’s contractors have now started work on the site. The campaign would like to remind everyone of two very important things:

1. This does not mean that Tesco can open. Tesco can do what they like to the inside of the site but that doesn’t mean that they have the necessary permissions or delivery access to open. It also doesn’t mean that they are likely to get an alcohol licence. This is designed to intimidate us and the council; don’t let yourself be intimidated.

2. If you talk to any of the contractors working on the site, please be polite, however you feel about what they are doing. Getting angry with the contracters won’t hurt Tesco, in fact, it’s probably exactly what Tesco would want.