Tesco supermarket plan divides town (From This Is Lancashire)

Tesco supermarket plan divides town

8:59am Tuesday 22nd May 2012 in News

EVER since Tesco submitted plans to build a supermarket in Little Lever in November last year, a war has been waged between those who oppose it and those in favour.

There have been five petitions — three against and two for — as well as hundreds of letters from both camps, public meetings and a consultation event.

There are two vocal campaign groups for and against the proposals, each with their own Facebook group with similar numbers of members.

Under the proposals, the Tesco store, which will have a gross floor area of 2,778 square metres, will be built on the site of the former Pennine Pets Factory, on the corner of Lever Street and Crossley Street.

The council’s planning committee will determine the proposal on Thursday, but it is likely that the decision will be delegated to Keith Davies, Bolton Council’s director of development and regeneration.

The proposed site will have car parking, a service yard and landscaping, and there will also be road alterations to accommodate additional traffic and ease congestion at what is already a busy junction.

This includes making Lever Street one-way, widening Ainsworth Road and adding a puffin crossing, replacing Church Street’s zebra crossing with a puffin crossing, relocating the bus stops in Ainsworth Road and Market Street, and adding traffic-calming measures to Ainsworth Road and Victory Road. If the plans go ahead, the existing Tesco Express, in Market Street, will close and its 49 staff will be relocated to the new store.

Tesco says there will be an additional 100 new jobs created by the new store.

It is not the first time Tesco has caused controversy in small towns by submitting plans to build a supermarket.

In Traff ord, controversial plans for a large Tesco on land next to Lancashire County Cricket Club were opposed by residents as they believed the store would harm trade in Urmston town centre.

But despite a long-running campaign, Trafford Council approved the plans in March, 2010, after a report said the store’s impact in nearby areas would be minimal.

Plans for a Tesco near the West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth, where BBC sitcom Last Of The Summer Wine was filmed, divided opinion earlier this year, with those opposing the scheme saying it would damage trade and those in favour saying it would create jobs.

In Colchester, residents believe a proposed Tesco will generate too much extra traffic.

have car parking, a service yard and landscaping, and there will also be road alterations to accommodate additional traffic and ease congestion at what is already a busy junction.

This includes making Lever Street one-way, widening Ainsworth Road and adding a puffin crossing, replacing Church Street’s zebra crossing with a puffin crossing, relocating the bus stops in Ainsworth Road and Market Street, and adding traffic-calming measures to Ainsworth Road and Victory Road. If the plans go ahead, the existing Tesco Express, in Market Street, will close and its 49 staff will be relocated to the new store.

Tesco says there will be an additional 100 new jobs created by the new store.

It is not the first time Tesco has caused controversy in small towns by submitting plans to build a supermarket.

In Traff ord, controversial plans for a large Tesco on land next to Lancashire County Cricket Club were opposed by residents as they believed the store would harm trade in Urmston town centre.

But despite a long-running campaign, Trafford Council approved the plans in March, 2010, after a report said the store’s impact in nearby areas would be minimal.

Plans for a Tesco near the West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth, where BBC sitcom Last Of The Summer Wine was filmed, divided opinion earlier this year, with those opposing the scheme saying it would damage trade and those in favour saying it would create jobs.

In Colchester, residents believe a proposed Tesco will generate too much extra traffic.

YES

TESCO will create jobs, regenerate a derelict site and provide a much-needed supermarket in Little Lever, according to the “yes” campaign.

The group, which has a Facebook page with 134 members, is supporting the plans for a larger Tesco store, which they say will be invaluable to people living nearby.

To date, more than 100 support letters have been sent to Bolton Council, along with two petitions in favour, in the form of 349 support cards.

Five support comments were received following a drop-in consultation event in April.

Little Lever resident Carolyn Gavin said the store would regenerate the derelict site and would be “positive” for the community.

“I use the Tesco Express store that is in Little Lever to supplement my weekly shop,” she said.

“I would like to see a bigger store locally and would welcome the bigger choices that it would give me. It would create much-needed jobs for the people of Little Lever.”

Resident Justin I’Onn said the store would give people greater choice and stop them having to pay more for items.

“We’re in the midst of a recession and this is no time to support ‘local traders’ by paying over the odds for the same goods available at half the price elsewhere,” he said.

“The proposed site is a disused wasteland, and has been for years.

“It will be developed sooner or later, so why not now? And why not a development which will serve all the community, by saving them money?”

His thoughts have been echoed by several residents, who said the new store would save them money and save them having to travel further.

Ann Johnson, from Little Lever, said: “As I always shop at Tesco, I have to travel to Farnworth or Bury because the one we have at the moment does not have the same amount of items due to its small size.

“I do not believe it will create a vast amount of traffic, and it will certainly save me money in petrol.”

Tesco spokesman Matthew Magee said the store would provide jobs and investment for the town and claimed two-thirds of residents support them.

“The plans have been popular with local people who want a wide-range of affordable goods on their doorstep — the Council has received more than 800 letters supporting the proposals,” he said.

“This reflects our research conducted during our pre-application consultation for the proposals that saw more than 70 per cent of responses supporting the plans.”

Chris Bowman, from the developer Ladson, said: “The store would encourage more people to do their weekly shop locally and provide a boost to the area and its residents.”

NO

ANOTHER supermarket is not needed because it will harm Little Lever shops and cause congestion and traffic problems, the “no” campaign group claims.

The group, which has a Facebook page with 145 members, is against the plans for a larger Tesco because “it is not needed”.

To date, more than 130 letters opposing the plans have been sent to Bolton Council, and there have been three petitions objecting to the proposals with 26 signatures.

Another 42 objection forms were completed following a drop-in consultation.

Tracey Mortimer, Little Lever resident and vocal “no” campaigner, said a large Tesco would take the “community feel” out of the village.

“Tesco would harm the village — it would become a one-stop shop and people wouldn’t go to the other village shops,” she said.

“Also, it’s on a very bad junction and the traffic proposals will not make it better. I really don’t think what they are putting in place will work.”

Mrs Mortimer says many of the support letters are from outside the area, including Atherton and Heaton, and claims there are duplications of signatures on support cards.

Her concerns are echoed in the letters sent to the council, which say the proposal would kill off existing businesses in the town centre.

There are also worries about what will happen to the existing Tesco, in Market Street, which will be closed when the new one opens, creating an empty unit in the village centre.

A number of the objectors are concerned about traffic issues and say the store will cause additional congestion, an increased number of accidents and rat-running on surrounding roads.

Resident Kristy Atkinson said: “The larger store, which is larger than required for a small area, is targeting customers outside the area and will attract additional traffic to the area on the already busy junction.

“This will be made bedlam by the introduction of puffin crossings and a one-way system on Lever Street will exacerbate this ongoing concern.”

Rival supermarket chain Asda has also submitted an opposition letter to the council, stating it feels “the size of the site that Tesco is proposing will have a negative impact on the town centre”.

Traders and business owners in Little Lever have also expressed concern about the impact a large Tesco could have on the village.

Little Lever resident Sean Hornby, a former councillor and former chairman of the planning committee, said he thought the plans would “kill off the village”.