Tesco claim another opening date
The Cambridge Evening News has run a story about Tesco claiming an opening date for their proposed store on Mill Road.
As you may remember, this isn’t the first time that Tesco have made similar claims – they originally claimed they were going to open up on 28 January last year, and then of course they were definitely going to “start work” on the store in July last year. That claim, like this one, was made after they had decided to make an application to the council and – again like this one – seemed designed to pressurise the council into giving them what they wanted (and scaring local people in the process).
We believe this is PR to put pressure on the licensing committee. Tesco have made no attempt to consult with the planning department who had previously advised them to apply for a lawful development certificate – which they haven’t done. They have not satisfied anyone that they can install the necessary equipment without needing planning permission, probably because this would be impossible (at least that’s what we’ve been told). They have no practical way of servicing the site, since the only means they have is round ‘the loop’ of Catherine and Sedgwick St, which they themselves have said is dangerous and not viable because the loop could easily be blocked by carelessly parked vehicles. And of course, they are applying for an off licence in an area where a cumulative impact zone was introduced specifically to deal with off-licence problems.
