Much of Tenbury has been filled with curiosity and trepidation as the new Tesco site has been developed. Will the store be worth the wait and the massive disruption or will the novelty soon wear off?

On the one hand, many young people of Tenbury have been leaping at the opportunity to apply for a job and earn some precious pennies. This is undoubtedly a positive change for our town as they are becoming more responsible and will therefore acquire vital, new skills to equip them for the 21st century.

However, many of our independent shops remain nervous about losing custom to the big store.

Some residents also vow never to shop there because they wish to remain loyal to their independent retailers.

The works, which have cause such disruption and bad feeling, with traffic jams reaching all the way back to the Crow, are set to continue possibly past the opening date, now in April.

We have yet to know how this will affect income amongst the businesses that line Bridge Street.

Sometimes change is hard to accept and be positive about.

Many people are looking forward to a wider selection of groceries which they hope will be available, while others fail to see this as an advantage, arguing that we have sufficient choice in the town already.

However, progress and change is something that we should take in our stride seeing it as the ‘new normal’. It remains to be seen though, whether this change does represent progress after all.