Tesco Planning Application -Walkley/Crookesmoor

[hillsbro]

Thats a joke surely. Have you ever been to the one on Fulwood between 4 and 6?? It's mad with cars stopping on the way home from work. There are at least 10 spaces down there and always people waiting to get in them.I know it sells petrol as well but 2/3 of people going to it don't go for that.

 

I think you need to compare like with like. Shops in Fulwood serve a wide area of mostly detached and semi-detached houses, so a great many local people shop by car. Walkley is more densely populated and many people shop on foot, and impecunious students don't have cars anyway. So the limited car park space at the proposed store won't be such a problem.

[medusa]

Next time I pop into the Dram Shop will sign it. How is it legal for Tesco to own so many stores? Surely there are laws against this kind of thing, especially with Infirmary Road so close by.

 

Many local shops have petitions to sign, including the bakers just round the corner on Howard Road/South Road and Beanies.

 

Both are still advising people to write to the planning department to express why they object to the plans.

 

Personally I cannot believe that the level of parking needed for this shop will ever exist safely- the junction is already a total nightmare to negotiate from any of the side roads. Additionally the clearway that's in operation during peak periods means that only having 3 normal parking spots will be totally inadequate. I don't think that the area needs another Tesco- but if you're going to approve one being built nearby, then this site is one of the worst places that it could be approved.

[blusky]

I lived in Crookes for a long time and still drive through fairly regularly. The junction is on is ahotspot for accidents, especially collisions with buses. It actually has a number of roads feeding onto the main Crookesmoor/South rd. I have seen loads of accidents here.

 

I think the traffic generated will cause more accidents.

 

I agree with previous posts that they have done their homework. It looks a done-deal to me. However, the last petrol station was rubbish. It was always running out of petrol and only existed because a few local businesses had accounts there.

 

The last I heard, it was going to be used for a block of flats. I am sure that was approved years ago.

 

By going back to a petrol station/convenience store would that not constitute a change of use?

[chris@25]

I think you need to compare like with like. Shops in Fulwood serve a wide area of mostly detached and semi-detached houses, so a great many local people shop by car. Walkley is more densely populated and many people shop on foot, and impecunious students don't have cars anyway. So the limited car park space at the proposed store won't be such a problem.

 

The Tesco Express "Fulwood" isn't in Fulwood at all, it's in Nether Green and there are many terraced houses nearby. Many people driving home to Fulwood do seem to pop in on the way however - wouldn't surprise me if the Walkley store gets lots of drivers on their way home to Stannington or Hillsborough also popping in on their way home.

 

The Nether Green shop is particularly annoying because if you want petrol you have to queue for ages because of people doing their shopping, whereas if you want some shopping you have to queue for ages because of the drivers paying for fuel. They could easily add the pay at pump service like they have at Millhouses but they don't because Tesco want you in the little shop buying bits and pieces and don't give a monkeys about the parking and traffic chaos outside at busy times.

[hillsbro]

 

The Nether Green shop is particularly annoying because if you want petrol you have to queue for ages because of people doing their shopping, whereas if you want some shopping you have to queue for ages because of the drivers paying for fuel.

 

So buy your fuel or food elsewhere. If everyone did that, Tesco would go away, but it sounds as if they have a brisk turnover so they must be fulfilling some sort of need.

[samc3]

I am going to be opposing the application as there is absolutely nothing in the application which addresses the congestion and mayhem at this junction. I walk my children to school at Westways across this junction and it is really dangerous. I imagine they will rely on the fact there was a garage there but the presence of the garage doesn't make it safe - traffic and access was a problem then. I cannot see how lorries will deliver to the premises safely and if staff are parking to work there then where do the customers park? How can an entrance to a shop at a point where 5 streams of traffic meet be sensible or safe.

I also hate the insidious homogenisation of our communities by chains that really care little for the community they "serve" beyond getting as much money as possible. This will not of course sway the council as it isn't a basis for objection but traffic and access is.

What next? one in Crookes to kill of the Co-op, One on South Road to kill off Levitts? I bet they wanted to get a site in Crookes but there are none going free - I wonder if they made offers to St Lukes for the old garage?

[Malanimal]

So buy your fuel or food elsewhere. If everyone did that, Tesco would go away, but it sounds as if they have a brisk turnover so they must be fulfilling some sort of need.

 

They fulfil a need for easy shopping. They sell a small range of everyday goods at prices below that of local shops (by forcing down the price of their suppliers - they have British farming in an "armlock" according to Tony Blair, not that he did anything about it). People pop in for a pint of milk, then buy other stuff because it is easy. The other stuff might be more expensive than nearby shops, but who can be bothered when it is all in one place. It is a mass marketed, standardised, bland experience - but it fits nicely with our lifestyles so people will shop there.

 

The margins by which independent retailers survive are slim. Tesco can afford to put money into a shiny new store for some time before it even makes money. Once it is there there is no chance it will close down because most people pick the thing that is closest, that is easiest. By doing that, however, we will lose what is precious. I can't see Beanies closing, but I bet a couple of local shops will go.

 

Local independent shops usually employ local people and the profits go right back to the community. They employ local firms for signs and plumbing and publicity, not like the big supermarkets. Not only that but they can be centres of gossip, where people can chat and catch up. Supermarkets just don't have the same feel.

 

As for getting them to not stock some goods, that is a good idea. Apparently conditions can be put in that they don't sell certain things. So a restriction would help protect local traders, perhaps add a restriction on fruit and veg, groceries, and drink as well:)

 

For some tips on the planning side of things go to:

Tescopoly

 

Hassling councillors is another route and their objections can carry some more weight.

 

I worked for Tesco for five years and I wouldn't say they are evil, they are just greedy, and that is an unhealthy habit.

[Jeebus]

^^

 

good post

[hillsbro]

They fulfil a need for easy shopping... It is a mass marketed, standardised, bland experience - but it fits nicely with our lifestyles so people will shop there.

 

Seems it's our fault for shopping at Tesco. And Tesco know exactly what people want, so this is what they provide. It may seem painfully true, but it's called the market, and there is relatively little that councils can do, so we're stuck with it.

 

Miles Kington drew attention to one disadvantage of free enterprise in his "Times" column a couple of years ago. He wrote that the last greengrocers in Bath city centre had closed due to a huge increase in rent, being replaced by a branch of a multinational retailer. The freehold was owned by the local council, whose response was that they had "an obligation to taxpayers to obtain the highest possible rents for their properties". So it was exit the butcher, baker and greengrocer and enter such retailers as Gucci, Tie Rack and The Body Shop. Money talks, and until we have a Revolution we have to accept the market for good or ill. Tesco will open stores wherever they can make a profit. They don't care about local retailers who might be put out of business. If the council can stop this development, good for them, but to me it seems unlikely.

[chris@25]

So buy your fuel or food elsewhere.

 

I generally do, I was just making a point about how Tesco operate. I don't think they do anything by accident.