the No Mill Road Tesco Campaign

Note: NMRT has no view on other Tesco stores around Cambridge. However, this story will be of interest to some of our supporters, and it also mentions the artistic protest event which took place at the weekend.

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raymond.brown@cambridge-news.co.uk

TESCO is considering opening another store in Cambridge – the supermarket giant’s 15th in the city.

The former Dreams bed shop in East Road has been earmarked as a prime site for an Express store.

The latest proposed scheme would be less than one mile from the controversial store in Mill Road, which is set to open on August 26.

There has been furious opposition to the Mill Road shop, due to the street’s reputation for unique, independent retailers.

More than 5,000 people signed a petition against it, but some residents are in favour, saying Tesco will bring cheaper prices.

The No Mill Road Tesco Campaign this weekend held a demonstration at the site for the second Saturday in a row.

And Cambridge City Council is today (Monday, 17 August) set to decide on an alcohol licence for the store.

Beverley Carpenter, the No Mill Road Tesco Campaign co-ordinator, said: “It was quite a lively protest.

“We were protesting about the licensing application. We decorated the fence around the site with lager cans. We are hopeful the application will be turned down.”

She said while the group felt it was “really inappropriate” to have a Tesco store on Mill Road, it did not hold particular views on applications at other sites in the city.

Dreams, the bed linen and furniture store, has moved to the Beehive centre and held its grand opening this weekend.

Glen Deadman, assistant manager of Dreams, said: “I think it would be good if Tesco is moving to our old site.

There are so many students and people on that road that would use it. The road needs brightening up.”

London-based CgMs, which has been the planning agent for Tesco’s Mill Road store, is also overseeing applications to Cambridge City Council for the East Road venture.

Plans for “plant works to rear enclosed by 2m high hit and miss fence” at the site were approved earlier this year.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: “We are always on the lookout for possible new sites all over the country and are often in negotiations for suitable schemes for Express stores.

“However, these often never materialise and until an agreement is reached or an application made we would not comment on individual cases.”

Cambridge Evening News, 17th August 2009

Note: NMRT has no view on other Tesco stores around Cambridge. However, this story will be of interest to some of our supporters.

We have been investigating rumours that Tesco are planning to open another Tesco Express store, this time on East Road, which would be their 15th store in the Cambridge area.

The bed shop there, Dreams, on East Road had a closing down sale at the weekend, and a shop-worker there commented that Tesco was apparently to be the new occupant.

By way of demonstration that campaigning can work – as if our own two wins against Tesco aren’t enough – we highlight other cases from around the UK where Tesco have failed to receive Planning Consent. Not however that our campaign concerned with Tesco on Mill Road, rather than Tesco as a company per se.

• St Albans – We Won! 10 Reasons Why The Council Said No! (30th June 2008)
• Worcester – Thumbs down for Tesco plans (27th June 2008)
• Sunninghill – Tesco plans rejected / Tesco plan thrown out after 600 objections (12th June 2008)
• Poynton, Macclesfield – Tesco is no match for people power (5th March 2008) – only a few days after our own success!

In the Sunninghill case, the grounds for refusal appear to be very similar to our case in Cambridge, and the refusal withstood an Appeal

[This example is significant as it demonstrates that council officers are able to reject plans on the basis of “adverse impact on the vitality and viability of nearby local centres and retail provision”.]

Tesco Plan refused [in Preston, Lancashire]

Traders and residents around the Lane Ends area of Ashton in Preston have expressed their relief that plans for a new convenience store have been rejected.

They had submitted a petition with 1,000 signatures and 317 letters of objection against the Tesco Convenience store planned for the site of the former HSS Lift and Shift base near Tulketh Mill.

Today council officers rejected the plan due to the insufficient parking provision and because it would have an “adverse impact on the vitality and viability of nearby local centres and retail provision” within the area.

Continue reading ‘‘Tesco plan refused’ in Preston, Lancashire – campaigning works!’ »

Yet another example of Tesco pulling out of plans after local opposition. [See more …]

Tesco puts garage site up for sale

Supermarket chain Tesco has pulled out of plans to open its first store in Darlington.

Tesco yesterday admitted it had dropped proposals to build an Express shop on a former petrol station in the town’s North Road.

A spokesman revealed it had, instead, put the site up for sale.

Juliette Bishop, from Tesco, said: “We are disappointed that our planning application for the site on North Road has been unsuccessful.

“We remain convinced that our plans would benefit the local area, as well as regenerating a derelict site.

“However, after taking some time to consider our options, we have decided to no longer progress plans for this site.”

Councillors rejected the third set of plans for the former Shell garage on December 12.

Tesco had also appealed against the council’s previous refusal for the 107,000 sq ft store in the Harrowgate Hill area of the town.

Councillor Mark Burton, who represents Harrowgate Hill on Darlington Borough Council, had earlier this week contacted the company to ensure the site was tidied up as Tesco had promised last month.

He said: “I am very surprised.

Tesco generally fights tooth and nail.

“It would be nice to see it sold onto a housing developer for houses relatively the same as those in the area.”

Tesco bought the site for £500,000 last January, four months after an initial set of plans for a mini-supermarket were refused.

Coun Burton said: “I can see it being derelict for quite some time. That is the last thing people really want.”

Shell closed the petrol station in February 2005 and put the site up for sale.

The site was then plagued by anti-social behaviour until fencing was erected around it.

In August 2006, plans were unveiled for a 24-hour Tesco store and 130 apartments on the present town hall site.

The council later refused the plans after a petition with more than 10,000 names was handed in to the council.

Tesco’s only presence in Darlington is a One Stop shop, in Yarm Road, whose parent company was bought by the chain in Jaunary 2003. It still operates under the One Stop name.

The Northern Echo, Wednesday 9th January 2008

Yet another article showing that Councillors are often able to reject such applications, even against the advice of council officials. (See more cases elsewhere.)

Why we booted out new Tesco plans [in Norwich]

Controversial plans to build a Tesco Express on Unthank Road have yet again been rejected in what was today hailed by opponents to the store as a victory for democracy.

Councillors on City Hall’s planning committee yesterday overwhelmingly rejected proposals for the store on a former petrol station site for the second time in a month on grounds of highway safety and congestion.

The application by the supermarket giant was turned down in a previous planning committee meeting on December 6, against the recommendation for approval by planning officers, but councillors then asked officers to produce a report setting out the exact wording for the reasons for refusal.

Continue reading ‘Tesco plans in Norwich refused – campaigning works!’ »

The Keep Chorlton Interesting group reports that the Planning Committee in their area voted to refuse the application to build a Tesco Express at 84 Manchester Road, Chorlton, Manchester. They voted unanimously against the planning department’s recommendation for approval. Sadly, Tesco have lodged a “non-determination” appeal, so their fight is not over yet.

However, congratulations to them from us in Cambridge!

Earlier in November, they issued a statement of support for our own Campaign in Cambridge:

The Keep Chorlton Interesting group has been campaigning since March against the application to build a Tesco Express in Chorlton, Manchester and is a coalition of local people, councillors and independent retail businesses. Last Thursday we won an important step forward in the campaign against the Tesco application.

The Council Planning Department’s recommendation was to approve the application. But following our campaign the planning committee Councillors voted unanimously for a “Minded to Refuse” motion. We still have a lot of work to do – but this was an important victory.

We take heart from Finchley where the Council’s decision to refuse a Tesco Express was upheld by the Planning Inspectorate. We can – and will – win – so can your campaign.

They also had done a shopping basket comparison, which, like our own comparison, found that a Tesco Express in their area was more expensive than local independent shops.

The Manchester Evening News also had a story of interest:

Continue reading ‘Keeping Chorlton Interesting – campaigning works!’ »

Conservationists have hailed a council’s decision to refuse permission for a Tesco supermarket in the Norfolk seaside town of Sheringham.

	Tesco store: The decision has been hailed as a ‘real victory’

Councillors from North Norfolk district council took the decision unanimously, by a vote of 17-0, against a recommendation from their officials to approve the 1500 sq metre store.

The controversial proposal has been the subject of a ten-year-long battle between the retailer and opponents within the town.

It became a cause célèbre last year when it emerged that the council had signed a legal agreement with Tesco that it had kept secret for years, and that as a result of the agreement the council was blocking the development of an alternative, smaller retail development in the town.

Officials had warned councillors that they would be liable to pay legal costs if the retailer chose to appeal.

Tom Oliver, Head of Rural Policy at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “The decision by North Norfolk District Council sends a clear message of hope for local communities up and down the country that the supermarket onslaught can be successfully resisted

“Those in Government who urge an easing of planning rules for supermarkets should think again and listen to the will of the people expressed today in Norfolk.”

The Government’s forthcoming planning Bill would remove the ability of local planners to decide on the “need” for a retail development.

Sandra Bell, supermarket campaigner for Friends of the Earth said: “The decision to say No to Tesco in Sheringham is a real victory for the local community and for democracy.

“Elected councillors in North Norfolk should be congratulated on standing up to the retail giant and acting to protect the character and vibrancy of this seaside town.

“They were absolutely right to go against the recommendation of planning officers which put forward a flawed case for approving a superstore development which would have wiped out local shops in the town and increased traffic and congestion.”

A spokesman for Tesco said: “This is a sad day for the majority of Sheringham’s residents who will now have to wait for a store.”

Tesco still have an appeal outstanding against the alleged failure of the council to decide a planning application for a virtually identical development in 2003. This has yet to be decided by a planning inspector.

Daily Telegraph, 22nd November 2007

Plans to build a Tesco store in the Norfolk town of Sheringham were yesterday rejected by councillors after a long battle against the supermarket. But the decision will now be reconsidered by a larger council planning committee in three weeks. Campaigner Eroica Mildmay said: “We are not going to give up. But it seems that North Norfolk district council’s unelected planners are saying ‘you can have any answer as long as it is yes’.” A Tesco spokesman said: “We were really pleased that people from Sheringham came to the planning meeting and spoke in support of the scheme.”

The Guardian, Saturday 3rd November 2007

Following the recent defeat for Tesco in Ireland comes the news that another proposed Tesco store in Tolworth (London) has also been stopped.

ThisIsMoney reports that:

“Plans to build a superstore and 662 homes at Tolworth, near Kingston, south west London, have been withdrawn in the face of all-out opposition from residents and shopkeeper. […]
The decision comes after a Competition Commission’s report highlighted concerns about the emergence of ‘Tesco towns’ where only one company can prosper.”

This appears to be a very similar situation to Mill Road, With a large Tesco within 2 miles.

We hope that Tesco will do right thing and withdraw their plans for a Mill Road Tesco in Cambridge.

ThisIsMoney also reported earlier this year on the ‘Sly tricks of the supermarkets‘.