the No Mill Road Tesco Campaign

Come and visit the Milly Card stall at the Mill Road Winter Fair on Saturday 4th December 2010!

Come to the Mill Road Winter Fair on Saturday 5th December!

We’ll be there promoting the new Milly Card.

PS Check out the video from last year showing the projections onto the former Wilco site!

On Saturday 12th September, a celebration of local shops and independent traders took place outside Hilary’s greengrocers on Mill Road. A very enjoyable and cordial day was had.

Two new flyers, ‘The fight goes on’ and ‘Why celebrate Mill Road?’ were handed out.

As notified to the supporters’ e-mail list:

The AGM of the Mill Road Society (under which No Mill Road Tesco runs) will be held on Tuesday 1st September at 7.30pm St Phillips Church.

We will be updating everyone on recent activities, electing new committee members and making decisions about the future of the campaign.

Please do come along if you are able. It is important that we continue to receive input from as many supporters as possible.

Agenda:

1. Report back on current legal situation
2. Discussion of Saturday 12th September event
3. Future direction of the campaign and ongoing activities
4. Presentation of Accounts
5. Election of Committee
6. Any Other Business

A group of local people have arranged a bike ride round the ‘loop’ which supporters may be interested to hear about.

Midday, Saturday 22nd August.

At today’s East Area Committee, a daytime meeting attended by around 100 people and a meeting seeing uproar at the conduct of the charing of the meeting by Cllr Blencowe, it was decided:

In light of the assurances given by Tesco including by letter dated the 17th of August 2009 and subject to receipt of a satisfactory undertaking on its part to comply with the condition regarding deliveries, no further action is taken at present.

And

that the Director of Environment and Planning and the Head of Legal Services are given full delegated powers to take enforcement action in the event that Tesco breach the planning condition requiring no loading or unloading of goods, including fuel, to take place otherwise than within the curtilage of the site.

It was noted by one speaker that a representative of Tesco was present at the back of the meeting, but he did not announce his present, and he refused a direct invitation (by that public speaker) to speak.

[Subsequent edit: The Minutes of the meeting are now available.]

Separately, our legal action is continuing.

A very full and accurate report of the meeting has been published by independent resident, Richard Taylor, on his blog, which we recommend all supporters to read.

We agree with the comments made by one reader of that blog that

“chair Cllr Blencowe conducted the meeting in a dreadful manner. He managed to antagonise the entire crowd of about 100 people by continually interrupting speakers and preventing them making their points.”

and we are considering what action, separately, to take on that issue.

A meeting of the East Area Committee is to take place this Thursday to discuss planning enforcement at the Tesco site.

Date: Thursday 20 August 2009
Time: 10am
Place: St Phillips Church, 185 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 3AN

The agenda has now been published.

The City Council previously issued a public statement recognising the validity of the planning condition preventing lorries unloading from on Mill Road for this site:

“There is a lawful planning consent for the use of 163-167 Mill Road for retail use which requires deliveries to be made only from a rear service yard. We are urgently contacting Tesco to establish the company’s intention for the premises given the lawful consent. If it becomes clear that enforcement action may be necessary then the officers will report to members as soon as possible on options for further action”

Read our FAQ for the latest on all aspects of the Mill Road Tesco issue. A legal update will also follow soon.

We would ask supporters to gather outside St Phillips Church at 9.30 to express our view that deliveries by Tesco to the site will be dangerous. Please bring any transport-related banners.

Saturday 15th August, 12-1pm will see another event outside the Wilco site. We will be continuing to put pressure on the council to act but also raising awareness about the Tesco’s application for an alcohol licence (which is due to be heard on Monday at the Guildhall at 10.00am).

We would ask you to come along and dress the fence with us between 12 and 1pm, bringing with you empty beer cans to form part of our artistic intervention.

Please come and make your voice heard in an artistic and legal way!

We have been sent this picture, which depicts some street art by ‘Get Knitted’ – the word ‘ARROGANT’ knitted onto the fence.

The group is unconnected with the No Mill Road Tesco Campaign, but we thought our supporters might be interested to see this interesting response.

Another Mill Road Is Possible

Due to Tesco’s proposed opening of the store this month and the licensing application up before the council the campaign is organising a two-hour event at the Wilco site on Mill Road on 8th August.

From 11.00am – 1.00pm we invite all our supporters to come to the site and decorate the fence surrounding the front of the building with their placards, banners and artworks expressing their objections to both the licensing application and the store in general. This is an opportunity to let Tesco know once more that their store is not wanted or needed on Mill Road. Look forward to seeing you there.