In the Tenbury Advertiser on July 9 2015, Councillor Tony Penn, a known keen supporter of a Tesco in Tenbury Wells, believes a breakthrough in establishing the store “is very important”.
As a councillor he should realise that what is important is to stop the folly of Tesco gaining control of Tenbury and instead amass the resources that could provide a secure and sustainable future for everyone that’s essential and which most people value, i.e Tenbury’s shops, local produce, and local trade.
The council purportedly support this, yet are hell-bent on supporting the ‘Tesco Plan’ which is incompatible with virtually everything else they claim to support such as Tenbury traders.
Tesco’s policy of undercutting prices would cause the closure of many local shops providing basic foods, including our supermarkets, greengrocer, butchers and our fish and bread shops.
Tenbury will be irretrievably changed. Tourists are not going to be enticed into town by a Tesco store, charity shops, and traders selling knick-knacks.
Together with discerning customers, they will go elsewhere.
If finally Tesco does set up a store is it going to build another bridge for their lorries and customers?
If not, the already congested bridge will become gridlocked for customers of existing shops, for farmers’ tractors and for delivery of local produce.
Is Tenbury at present in a predicament? If it is, what exactly is that predicament? Surely, if there is one, it is belittled by the predicament Tesco will ensure.
Can all local people, including customers, traders, producers and farmers convince Tesco that the supermarket will be unviable?
Can our councillors be persuaded to support our shops and the locality and withdraw support for Tesco?
JOHN BLAND
Burford