OPINION: Tesco and the town centre
On 04/12/2014 At 2:57 pm
Category : Missed a ThameNews story?, More News, Thame news
Responses : 18 Comments
IN the second of Thame.Net’s new ‘Take on Thame’ opinion features, Bob Austin, of the East Thame Residents Association, shares his ‘take’ on the recent Tesco proposal to build a supermarket on the Daf site, on the edge of town:
Image courtesy of newerapolitics.org
AS Thame residents may be aware, it is not the first time that an attempt has been made to build a Tesco superstore. As long as twenty years ago the Thame Chamber of Commerce commissioned a report which demonstrated the loss of business to the town centre that a Tesco edge of town store would cause. The loss was stated to be in the order of £10 million. You can obviously add inflation, at least, to that.
“Nowadays, the importance of a town centre has been further emphasised. Its viability and vitality must be at the core of any planning decision under the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) and weight is also given to an approved Neighbourhood Plan. The latter clearly opposes an edge of town superstore.
“Tesco in in its recent flyer stated that people will be encouraged to shop locally as a result of a new superstore. If an edge of town store counts as a local equivalent of a vibrant town centre then that statement would be accurate. However, the logic lies elsewhere.
“At the recent Tesco exhibition Tesco staff were asked if £35 million would be a good estimate of the superstore’s turnover (this being based on Tesco published standard turnovers per square foot). They did not disagree. Where would this turnover come from? Tesco accept that trade would come from the town centre but assert that much would come from shopping currently carried out, outside the town, by Thame residents.
“Given the fact that two of the closest food stores in Princes Risborough and Aylesbury are Tesco owned (ASDA Wheatley being cheaper), Tesco would inevitably cannibalise at least some its own turnover. Why would it do that? The only explanation can be that Tesco will take substantial incremental business from the town centre in order to achieve £35 million turnover- not just from Waitrose or chain stores but from independents as well- with obvious implications for closures. I am not demeaning the needs of Tesco shoppers when I state this- just outlining the implications for the town centre.
“At its exhibition Tesco stated that turnover would be 80% food, 20% non-food at the start. It will not just be just food shops that will be affected. If you want a town centre that continues to be vital, then defend a policy (Thame Neighbourhood Plan and SODC core strategy 2027) that keeps shoppers within the core of the town, When Tesco puts its application in, it will be time to say ‘No to Tesco’ again.”
Bob Austin
East Thame Residents Association
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I just can’t see how an out of town supermarket can be of any benefit to Thame. Once people get in their cars to go to the shops, they may just as well go to Wheatley or Risboro, why do we need to suck shopping from the Town Centre.
Thame has always been a quality, and much admired traditional Oxfordshire town and is well known for that among its residents, local communities and visitors from wherever, and to go along these lines will surely kill off that respected and affectionate standing . In other words, let it retain its pride as it is now and stand out from the crowed.
An edge of town development will kill Thame town centre. As previously stated, there is no way that people will walk to the centre of Thame to visit other shops – but park up shop in Tesco’s then drive home. with the 3 supermarkets we already have (and the BP garage for the other end of town, we already have a great choice of supermarkets. what these current supermarkets provide is parking WITHIN the town centre placing shoppers within the centre of a thriving town and encouraging them to visit other establishments. Even the recently proposed supermarket on the cattle market site would have discouraged visits to the rest of the town. For those who support extra larger supermarkets, be careful what you wish for. Open your eyes on your travels and when you go through places like Risborough etc., you will see that there isn’t any vibrancy and quantity of people in the same way as you get in Thame.
Bring it on, also a wetherspoons pub!! That’s what Thame needs, not any more coffee houses or hairdressers we need to move with the times for the sake of our future generations… End of!
Just heard another alternative ….allow Tesco’s on the ring road, which would drive out Sainsbury’s which is useless anyway , & then let the building to Poundland . Lateral thinking ?
Most of the “against comments” are based on scaremongering over reactive feelings. So Thame, will become a victim of the Black Friday hysteria if we have a retail outlet of any sort on the DAF site ?? People who shop at ‘Risboro Tescos , leave their cars & walk into the Town centre ?? really ! , Oh come on people retaining a thriving town does not mean we have to restrict progress. We need Tescos and we also need more car parking spaces near the Town centre to allow additional visitors , so do not build on the cattle market, build out of town , and then what about a courtesy bus………now there’s a thought !
Referring to an earlier comment, I am not sure how having a Tesco will achieve reasonably priced accommodation in Thame. Also Tesco in Risborough is at the end of the High Street, not out of town.
Opposing Tesco will hopefully result in retaining a thriving town centre full of shops for future generations to enjoy, which is surely what we all want.
My objection is not with “Tesco” building on the DAF site, it’s with ANY supermarket being built on the outskirts of Thame. Look around at other nearby towns and then compare them with Thame – we are doing much, much better without any out-of-town shopping. Without a doubt, building a Tesco will be great for people in Long Crendon, Haddenham and Chinnor, as it will save them coming into town!!! No-one is going to do a weekly shop, load up the boot and then say, “I think I’ll go for a walk into Thame” – get real. The town centre retailers will suffer. Without a doubt, low cost food and petrol will attract many, just as we saw on Black Friday, so our ring road will become congested, right-turns into it from nearby roads will become death-traps and increased parking down those neighbouring roads from shoppers who can’t get a space will be a safety problem, particularly to children and the elderly living there. This will be further exacerbated when the Groves and Windles businesses are built on the opposite side of the road, adding another stream of cars and lorries on the ring road. To even contemplate building a retail and petrol station on this location is short-sighted and with no regard to the future of the town we all love.
Having just looked at some comparables to Thame, it is interesting to note that Chipping Norton has just granted Planning for an ALDI supermarket , where next Thame ???.
Could my previous conspiracy theory be correct , Tesco gain consent then sublet to Aldi or Lidl.
Then the High St will have even more Charity shops, hairdressers & nail bars
The “Say No to Tesco ” person believes we have three adequate supermarkets in Thame , many people , especially those on lower incomes would not agree. You can certainly discount Waitrose for reasonable pricing, Sainsburys for lack of product range, due to their restricted floor space , and so that leaves one shop in Thame. Sometimes you have to think ofothers, young families struggle enough to get reasonable accommodation in Thame unless they can rely on the bank of mum & dad, don’t drive them away by restricting facilities available to them. Thame will become a town where only the mature in years , & those commuting to London can afford to live . ‘Risboro is still a good place to shop & they allowed a Tesco on the outskirts or do we think we are better than them ?
I believe that this will destroy the fabric of the town centre robbing it of valuable trade and putting a lot of local shops out of business.
The proposals for Sainsburys were successfully rejected last year and I believe for the same reasons that the Tesco proposals should also be rejected.
We already have three good supermarkets which adequately serve the town.
I am scared for the future of Thame, as a vibrant busy Market town.
A Tesco super store will destroy local shops and bleed the life out of our community. We all need to voice our protests to our MP and our local councillors.
After spending an afternoon shopping in the very busy town centre in Thame, with shops full of customers, it struck me how different it would be if people spent their time and money at an out of town shop like Tesco. Let’s be realistic here. People will drive to Tesco, park, shop and get back into their vehicles and drive home without visiting the town centre. This can only have a detrimental effect to business and livelihoods in Thame. Imagine the town centre with a number of empty shops and misted windows. If you are of the same view then please get behind this campaign and don’t just leave it to other people
Out of town supermarkets are the death knell of town centres. We are lucky enough to have a very vibrant one with a plethora of individual shops to choose from. I am a passionate Thame resident of over 30 years and want to protect it for generations to come. This proposal puts this in jeopardy and cannot be allowed.
Having just spent an afternoon shopping in a very vibrant Thame town centre with many of the shops full of customers the proposal of a Tesco on the outskirts of the town can only threaten this.
The fact is that when people go to shop at Tesco they will drive in, park the car,do the shopping then drive home without visiting the town. This WILL impact on the shops in Thame.
The thought of walking through the town in the future with shops closed down and misted windows cannot be what people of Thame want. Please get yourself involved in apposing this plan and don’t just leave it to others.
Completely agree with you Bob. As concluded in 1994 and 1999 a huge supermarket on the edge of Thame would significantly impact our Town centre. As Tesco plan to offer ‘click and collect’ all shops would be affected as would local businesses that rely on these shops and the footfall they bring.
Lets support our Town Centre and the Neighbourhood Plan that commits to keeping shops in the town centre. If this supermarket does go ahead it will bleed Thame’s heart dry and our vibrant town centre and the community spirit it has fostered will quickly be a distant memory.
Bob is right. Tesco would be bad news for Thame on every level – for the High Street, for nearby residents, for traffic and (despite what Tesco says) for local jobs. The suggested ‘200 new jobs’ takes no account of the jobs currently located on that site that will be lost/relocated out of Thame or other inevitable job losses from town centre businesses.
I couldn’t agree more with the comments highlighted in the article above. However, there is a real danger that the businesses in Thame will just ‘sleep walk’ into closure unless they become a much stronger force in Thame and oppose this ridiculous development. Wake-up – time to take action now!