Blog: When I moved to Powys, Welshpool became my nearest town and I was more than happy with that, writes Emma Suddaby.

It’s a charming old town with plenty of small, interesting shops, and bigger ones too if you’re in need of a supermarket. It boasts a sweet, canalside walk right in the town centre, Powis Castle is not much further should you fancy a bit of culture, and a newly revived weekly street market for everything else.

Being disabled, I have to try to park right outside whichever shop I need and it’s never been too much of a struggle in lovely old Welshpool.

And then Tesco came to town.

I almost hate to write about them because I find myself doing it so often – am I obsessed with Tesco or are they really trying to take over the world?

Their latest bid for world domination has seen them build a new superstore bang in the middle of poor Welshpool, with more parking, bigger windows and cheaper deals than anything the small traders of the town could ever hope to offer.

And then, to top it all off, the traffic system has been re-arranged, apparently to improve access and traffic flow past the new store. I have nothing against the new one-way system in theory. It should, and could, work.

But the reality is that a large percentage of the town’s through traffic is now directed conveniently past the new store to sit in the tedious traffic jams, which culminate right outside the Tesco entrance – until even the staunchest of anti-superstore folk amongst drivers must find themselves wondering if it wouldn’t be quicker to just pop into Tesco and do the shopping there.

Call me cynical, but since Tesco came to town, it takes twice as long to drive through the town centre, with unfamiliar drivers flouting lanes left right and centre due to poorly signed routes, and I can’t park where I need to for love, money nor disabled badges.

And that’s just from the driver’s perspective. What about those small, interesting shops, how long will it be before they can no longer compete with the money-off vouchers and the two-for-one deals and the easy parking offered by the new “big boy” in town?

I firmly believe that one day we will all wake up and realise that we’ve slept too deeply, allowing our town councils and planning departments to be seduced by chains and, in doing so, have signed the death warrant for lovely old towns like Welshpool.

Give me small shops and character and freedom of choice – I’ve got a BOGOF offer for Tesco’s but I’m not sure they’d want it!