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Supermarket campaigners to hit streets
Monday 1st March 2010, 11:05AM GMT.
Campaigners fighting proposals for a supermarket will march through the streets of Oswestry in a bid to halt the plans. Councillors will decide in two weeks which one of four supermarket bids should get the go-ahead.
But a coalition of pressure groups will march through Oswestry town centre on Saturday to demonstrate there are objections to the multi-million pound store.
The coalition comprises Oswestry 21, Oswestry Civic Society, The Campaign to Protect Rural England and Oswestry Chamber of Trade.
The march will start at 11am from the Memorial Gardens in Church Street and walkers will go through the town centre to Bailey Head where speeches against the store plans will be delivered.
Marchers are being encouraged to make their own banners and bring whistles and drums to ensure the procession attracts as much attention as possible.
Mark Evans, from Oswestry 21, said: “The strategic planning committee is set to make their decision on the new supermarket proposals on March 18. With this in mind, the Coalition of OS21, Civic Society, CPRE and the Chamber of Trade is organising a protest march through Oswestry.
“If you believe, as we do, that Oswestry does not need another supermarket then join us on our town’s streets.
“By demonstrating the strength of feeling in town and the numbers involved, we can give courage to planning committee members who by voting against the proposals will be voting against the recommendations of the planning office.
“We can still influence the decision. The case against having these developments is very strong.”
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Councillors will have to determine the planning applications according to law – and public opinion is not a material factor.
Of course Shropshire Council could turn them all down in theory – and then face 4 sets of appeals and then an inspector will call – and probably make the council pay 4 sets of costs.
A supermarket will come – its just a matter of where.
Oswestry should perhaps look to the future and not the past.
1950′s style shopping is not coming back.
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Let’s have a decent Tesco or Asda somewhere near Mile End. Easy to get to, lots of passing trade, a decent boost to the town!
The thing that narks me most about Sainsbury and Morrisons is the parking charge. Fine if you are doing a decent shop as if you spend over £5 you can claim the charge back. But, if you want to just pop in for milk and bread, sorry, you haven’t spent enough, however if you want a pack of cigarettes, that’s fine as most are more than a fiver these days.
Great, so I get penalised for buying basic healthy food.
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This is just a dispute between councillors and nothing to do with the needs of the people. Most towns have several supermarkets with healthy competition giving the consumer cheaper prices.Get off your backsides councillors and create more original plans for Oswestry making it a better place for people to live in. Action speaks far louder than words Get that supermarket built and create jobs!!
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Anyone what to help me organise a march through Oswestry in support of a new supermarket, bringing with it new trade for the town…. and JOBS for the people of the town?!!
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This is rediculous, everyone I speak to wants another supermarket and a cinema!! Oswestry town council, listen to your people in all these comments and give us what we all want :-)
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Owestry needs a new supermarket surely the number of locals who shop in other towns such as Shrewsbury, Wrexham or even Telford justify more choice for the towns residents. Those who are marching to uphold the status quo need to wake up and realise that you need to give the people what they want or they will vote with there wallets and purses and spend THEIR money elsewhere. Dear Oswestry council person vote for the BEST deal Oswestry as a whole, can get. Don’t vote in support of a few small minded individuals.
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The claim that lots of local people from the town’s core catchment population do not shop in Oswestry is a myth. The Council’s advisers Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (NLP) now think only 17% of the core catchment population do not shop in Oswestry. For Oswestry itself, they think only 10% do not do their main grocery shopping in town, which apparently is not unusual.
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Oswestry doesn’t NEED another supermarket. If Oswestry had no supermarket or only one, then yes, there would be a need. As it is, Oswestry already has supermarkets covering all budgets. For those who really want to shop at Tescos there is already a new store in Ellesmere and they also offer home delivery to Oswestry addresses.
I also don’t accept the claim about jobs. Sure, some jobs would be created, but I know from experience that in the vast majority of cases supermarkets will only offer 8-12 hour per week contracts and then expect you to work varying amounts of overtime as it suits them. One week you can work 39 hours (not forty, then they’d have to pay you an overtime rate), the next week you’re back to 8 hours making it impossible to plan your finances. Also, if large out of town supermarket is built it will take vital trade away from the town forcing shops that are already struggling to close (see the afore mentioned Tesco in Ellesmere for a good example). It is often the case the number of jobs lost is greater than those created.
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How interesting that those in favour of ANOTHER supermarket in Oswestry should use language like ‘smallminded’ or ‘stopping progress’ or ’50′s style shopping’ against those we feel strongly against. It is clear that, despite what some “name and address witheld” letter writers are saying, the opposition to ANOTHER supermarket is actually rather large. Coalitions have been formed with various bodies joining together to fight this regressive pretence of a ‘developement’.
Better informed people than those who think ANOTHER supermarket is the way forward, would point out at the failures nationwide of these giant shopping centres that suck out business from town centres and have contributed enormously to the demise of our high streets. Economically they only benefit the few, socially they cause well documented problems such as the demise of neighbourhoods as corner shops close, exacerbate loneliness in the elderly who cannot go out of town for their grocery and isolate the young in empty five screen cinemas that are subsidised by the supermarket for a short fixed term only.There are endless reports, books, studies and campaigns against developments such as those proposed for Oswestry. They are neither modern nor innovative.They are in fact, all but modern. Many towns in Britain are bitterly regretting having allowed similar projects in the past and are living with the consequences of MORE TRAFFIC, LESS CHOICE and their town looking like a CLONE of others. Oswestrians are cleverer than that and well informed.That is way they are saying NO.
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