Independent expert analysis casts doubt on the reliability of Tesco’s retail impact assessment, a cornerstone of its planning application for an out of town superstore in Ledbury. Tesco’s own figures maintain that its proposals will not harm Ledbury’s currently thriving town centre but new evidence commissioned by LOTS suggests the opposite.
Prepared by London-based consultants Dalton Warner Davis, LOTS campaigners believe the report shows that Tesco’s impact assessment has been massaged to minimise town centre impact and emphasise ‘local need’.
The report concludes that any major trade diversion from a town centre already weakened by a poor economic climate should be ‘resisted’. The location of the proposed new Tesco store and the scale of the new store relative to the size of Ledbury are raised as important concerns.
Among the key findings, the report argues that: • Concerns over the location of the proposed new Tesco store and the scale of the new store relative to the size of Ledbury “provide clear policy grounds to object to the Tesco proposals.”
• Tesco’s claim that the Co-op’s future viability would not be threatened, is false. Report author Mary Power, partner consultant at DWD, states: “There certainly are grounds for concern about the viability of the Co-op store, and its partial, or complete loss of turnover would certainly adversely affect the town centre.”
• The town centre would lose more than it gains, particularly as “the two main foodstores that effectively help to underpin the town centre would close (one store, Tesco, would definitely close and the other, Co-op, would ‘probably’ close). In a weak economic climate, which has made many town centres more vulnerable, a further reduction in turnover from a large new out-of-centre store could have serious consequences.”
• Tesco fails to provide sufficient evidence of need for the size of the proposed superstore and its impact on Ledbury town centre or the potential impact on the closure of both existing supermarkets on Ledbury town centre’s vitality and viability.
• The proposed location is not sustainable by all modes of transport and one bus service per hour is not likely to encourage shoppers to travel between the Tesco superstore and the town centre by public transport provision.
‘We have been accused of making up figures about the likely impact of an out of town superstore on Ledbury town centre,’ said Annette Crowe, chairman of the Ledbury Traders’ Association. ‘Now we have a completely independent and measured analysis of Tesco’s calculations, and the evidence is exactly as we have always said: an out of town superstore would seriously damage our High Street. And this in turn would lead to the loss of jobs and ruin our town’s very special appeal to residents and visitors’.
The full DWP Ltd report will be submitted to Herefordshire Council’s Planning Department as part of its submission objecting to Tesco’s planning application.
As soon as the Sainsbury planning application is submitted, LOTS says that it will immediately commission a further independent scrutiny of the Sainsbury impact assessment on the town centre.
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LOTS aren´t anti-supermarket. Neither am I. Tesco where it is, IMHO, is a benign presence on our high street. I want it to stay that way. I personally would be quite happy for it to expand as long as it stayed at the current site, though I don´t presume to speak for others on that score. What we are campaigning against is an out-of-town superstore that we believe would have a seriously bad impact on the town centre. Can I put it any clearer?
I understand you are narked about my mis-spelling your name in a previous post but please do chill out a bit, Michael!
Since LOTS as I recall started as Ledbury Opposes Tesco Store before realising that would/could imply being supportive of Sainsbury's, it now apparently opposes anything that might possibly prejudice small trader supporters.
Did you happen to see the Television program on ITV yesterday that concentrated on the death of the high street, though it recognised that out of town stores CAN have an effect on high streets, the biggest overall reason for the problem is e.commerce and internet shopping, even one of the people, Mary Portas, that LOTS have used in a lever in their campaign was interviewed and not ONCE did she mention out of town stores as a reason for high street decline, she said that indpendant businesses needed to adapt, find new ways to entice customers .. something we at LESS have been saying for weeks, the cost of rent and rates and the need for independant traders to work together.
Orange bag, nice touch .. I'd rather have orange bags than paper ones, you know the ones that rip and tear under pressure, abit like the LOTS campaign.
You'll laugh your head off at this ,,,
I hear that LATS has become LAOS (Ledbury for Any Old Store) as it has changed its affinity from Tesco to Sainsbury!! Has everyone agreed at the same time and by consent?
This shows
1. No loyalty
2. No integrity
3. You don't know what you want except in the words of Tori Amos - "It's gotta be big"
What is it - the orange bag? You know what David Cameron says about plastic bags......
"Can someone please tell me in what way Tesco's are interested in Ledbury more than they are interested in maximising profit by taking over the whole of the UK? "
Very conspiracy theory, are you actually saying that Tescos in some way are trying to overthrow the current goverment?
Don't you understand that its a buisnesses remit to make money?
If Tescos etc are making better profits in this time of belt pulling then they must be doing something right, how can you say a company making money is a bad thing? Would you say the same about British Aerospace if it had the same report figures ..
As to the "wavering" migrant (not immigrant - immigrant relates to people who will or are applying for citizenship) workers, there has been a steady increase in those number over the last 5 years, can you honestly see that changing.
Sorry Martin your arguements are flawed and pretty meaningless.
I was commenting on the purpose of the report. It is stated that the report is an independent expert analysis but an Independent Expert can only be independent if appointed in an impartial capacity. I'm told the report was commissioned by a client and I presumed, maybe wrongly I don't know, that the client is LOTS or someone to do with LOTS.
"... assuming the report appears to have been commissioned by LOTS or a LOTS supporter, to influence the planning committee to refuse the application...."
Colin Marschall is correct in saying that Mrs Crowe's pronouncement doesn't tie in with the report. Mrs Crowe cannot possibly know for certain what is going to happen anymore than DWD's report does. All the report does is analyse Tesco's application and provide some possible scenarios with a view, assuming the report appears to have been commissioned by LOTS or a LOTS supporter, to influence the planning committee to refuse the application. LOTS says the report is an 'independent expert analysis' but whether the author of the report was acting in the capacity of expert witness has not been stated but if so then one of the tests for being considered a truly expert witness is that the the expert's conclusion would be the same if acting for the other side.
Britain's biggest retailer posted underlying pre-tax profits of £3.4bn for the 12 months to the end of February, a 10.1% rise on the previous year
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/20/tesco-rings-up-record-profits-again
TESCO has bagged record profits of more than £10million a day, despite losing out to UK rivals.
The supermarket giant made £3.8billion in the year to March, up 12.3%
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/city-news/2011/04/20/tesco-makes-record-profits-despite-losing-its-way-in-uk-115875-23073287/
Can someone please tell me in what way Tesco's are interested in Ledbury more than they are interested in maximising profit by taking over the whole of the UK?
Colin, despite the potential increase in population over the next 20 years and the wavering immigrant influx in what way is that a reason for a Tesco store 3 times the current size? Not one person has replied to my question of how Tesco alone can solve all the problems of Ledbury.