Asda says customers back store plan
Thursday 20th August 2009, 1:30PM BST.
An artist's impression of how the store would look
Shoppers have responded positively to multi-million pound proposals to relocate a Telford supermarket, company bosses said today.
Asda held two information days to gather the views of members of the public on its plans to move its existing store from Telford Shopping Centre to the site of Telford & Wrekin Council’s Civic Offices.
The retailer has also launched a website which which will be updated regularly as the proposal progresses. The site is available to view at www.asda-telford.co.uk
The firm will now collate the feedback it receives over the next few weeks.
- What is you view of the plan? Does Telford need another giant supermarket? Give your comments in the box below.
The aim is to incorporate any suggestions into the plans before submitting a planning application at the end of September.
The public consultation sessions were held in the town centre store.
They were staffed by experts who explained the details of the proposals and answered questions.
About 1,600 brochures detailing the plans were handed out to the local community and customers to the store.
The brochures included a freepost feedback form.
The need to safeguard colleagues’ jobs, improve car parking facilities and provide a modern, more customer-friendly store were the main reasons given by supporters of the proposal at the consultation sessions.
Chris Marlow, Asda’s property communications manager, said: “Asda has been part of the community in Telford for over 36 years, so it is no surprise that local people want to keep shopping with us after the lease expires at our existing store.
“The reasons given by supporters of the proposal are similar to those we identified, especially the need to safeguard over 350 jobs at the store.
“We believe that our proposal for the Civic Offices is the most suitable and viable option to allow us to do this.”
Although the in-store consultation event has ended, Asda said it would not stop listening to comments.
The 44,000 sq ft store would be part of a bigger scheme that would see the Civic Offices relocated and housing built close to the shopping centre.
By Lisa Rowley
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Its terrible. No more surface parking should be allowed in the town centre. Also what happened to the improved mix of uses and desire for higher density in town centre locations? Why are there no active frontages on to the main road. Please try again Asda, I know you can do better.
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What’s wrong with it? I think it looks quite nice, and infinitely better than what’s on the site at the moment.
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Not exactly the most inspiring design, but something tells me that they will get permission to build whatever they want as..
a) The Council are not going to jeopardise the sale.
b) ASDA has extremely strong links with the Tories (Ex chairman was Tory MP Archie Norman)
I do find the double standards quite amazing! T&W are happy to sell their office site to ASDA yet oppose further development of nearby Sainsburys (who have links with the Labour party?)
Talk about protecting your own interests!
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I would have no problem with the design if it were located in an out of centre location but this is in the town core can you imagine that being proposed in Shrewsbury town centre, or Worcester? I doubt it becuse they wouldn’t allow vast surface car parks and terrible ground level interaction. It should be a higher density and perhaps include offices or apartments above. I’m not talking skyscrapers before I get accused of that but town centre developments should look like town centre developments.
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Well I for one don’t give a monkeys’ what the shop looks like, so long as they continue to provide quality goods at rock bottom prices and won’t be charging for parking on the TC site, they will still be getting my trade.
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I hope ASDA stick to their plans and prevent people doing their shopping having to pay for parking. I avoid the Town Centre completely now as I even had to pay to park to visit the Citizens Advice and library. Disgraceful. The new centre needs free parking. If not I wish everyone would boycott it, but it didnt happen when they first introduced charges. We all need to take a stand.
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It’s a better looking building than the Civic Offices and I really cannot see why people dislike it. Its not near housing and in an area where office/shopping complex are located. I just hope they ensure the road infrastructure to and from the site has been thought out properly and take on board the issues with the Donnington road insfrastucture.
With another Asda it will encourge those who travel to Donnington to re-locate back to the Centre and eliviate some of the problems that Donnington encounter. I live in Muxton and have seen and heard the volume of traffic increase over the last few years.
This can only be good news for the enviroment and people who wish to shop at Asda.
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I know what you are saying Grey. The Lidl development in Harlescott should have fronted the road with the parking at the rear.
I remember the Civic Society making this observation but were they heeded? No, of course not!
It was so controversial, a 1930′s pastiche public house having to be removed which then got set on fire anyway. (fortunately)
They made Lidl redesign it about three times then set it back from the road, a nice design but the cars are the street frontage! DOH!
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Eva I’m glad someone gets me.
I also don’t understand why they need a surface car park and one on the ground floor of the store, why cant they build a mutli-storey above the store like Beatties or have an underground car park, that way cars are hidden from the street scene and there is less chance of big expanses of blank wall or garage doors.
Finally I wonder if it would be possible to incorporate smaller retail units around the Asda itself to provide continuous frontage of shops like a shopping precinct might have. The Asda could then have a grand entrance while the majority of the store would sit behind these smaller units.
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The Civic Offices already house a huge car park so it’s not like they’ve gotta make the car park bigger by taking on extra land. Probably dig it all over and start again.
There will be more spaces at the existing ASDA’s now.
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