Tesco supporters want their voices heard

SINCE the formation of the ‘Thame Centre First’ group, to fight a proposed supermarket on the outskirts of the town, a group of local people who support the development has met with Tesco representatives to devise their own strategy to ensure that their voices are heard too.

The group held a private meeting at Thame Town Hall on Tuesday (24/03) with two representatives of Tesco, Tesco Consultant, Mark Harrison, and the company’s Group Commercial Corporate Affairs Manager, Fflur Sheppard.

Around 20 people attended the privately arranged meeting designed, as stated at the meeting, to help Tesco present the ‘best case’ for the supermarket, to politicians and the public.

During a general discussion, it was suggested by one lady, who said she had lived her whole life in Thame, that in her opinion the protestestors against the proposed store were ‘in the minority but had the loudest voices’.  She felt, she added. that a lot of people were for the store but that they were ‘apathetic’ about saying so.

There was a lot of discussion about the lack of parking provision in the town centre, a lack of certain shops such as children’s clothing and somewhere to buy mobile phones. Other views expressed around the table included that a number of people from surrounding villages would use such a store. Others disagreed with the Thame Centre First group’s view that the proposed store would damage the High Street, and thought in fact that it would attract people to Thame. Some were of the view that the proposed store would be convenient for particularly older people living at that end of town, particularly as the Arriva 123 local bus was due to be scrapped.

The Tesco representative said that Tesco’s own research had shown that over 50% of shopping by local people was done outside Thame, and that Waitrose was ‘doing more business than it planned for’.  About the proposed plans themselves, he said that the store would sell around 70% food and that the rest would be include such things as books, and that the store would offer a ‘Click and collect’ service for anything ordered from Tesco on-line.

Some discussion took place around the Tesco promise of generating 200 local jobs, some of those at the meeting, refuting the official figures that Thame has a very low unemployment rate. From their own experience of grandchildren etc, one or two said that many of the jobs were Agency jobs, so-called ‘Zero hours’ contracts or part-time jobs which they felt gave a false impression of the employment situation in the town.

Eventually the meeting was asked to suggest ways of getting more support for the proposed supermarket and which parts of Thame such support might be found. A petition was suggested but decided against, and instead it was suggested that a standard letter of support would be produced in conjunction with, paid for and with help to distribute from, Tesco.

Tesco’s planning application is expected to go in to the planning authorithy, South Oxfordshire District Council, sometime in April, and they expect a decision by late Summer or early Autumn.

NB Neither representative from Tesco responded in time to a request to comment on the meeting.

Anyone who would like to know more or get involved with the Tesco supporters’ group, can visit the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Say-Yes-to-an-out-of-town-Tesco-store-In-Thame/371463593034373