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New supermarket ‘could harm Bridgnorth trade’
Monday 10th January 2011, 3:16PM GMT.
A proposed supermarket on the outskirts of a Shropshire market town could harm trade and the expansion of other businesses, it was claimed today.
Bridgnorth Civic Society has lodged an objection to the plans for an Aldi store on the former Bridgnorth College Campus in Stourbridge Road.
It is also against plans, also submitted to Shropshire Council, for a foodstore at Chartwell Park, which is also situated in Stourbridge Road, but has not yet lodged any objections.
David Cooper, civic society treasurer, said: “We feel that the current proposals for sites on Stourbridge Road do not comply with the planning policies which were laid down after a full public consultation exercise, and public examination by a government inspector, and do pose a potential risk of trade being diverted away from the town centre.
“This could threaten the expansion of town centre shops or the renewal of facilities.
“In the case of the site for the proposed Aldi store at the former Bridgnorth College site, the land is allocated for hotel use or housing and its diversion to retail use would put pressure on other sites for more housing land.”
Employ
He has also written a letter to Shropshire Council’s planning department on behalf of the civic society in which he says of the Aldi application: “The store would employ 13 full-time equivalent personnel, according to the application form.
“However, since 85 per cent of the store’s projected turnover would come from other stores in Bridgnorth, where it would be supporting jobs.
“The overall net gain to employment in Bridgnorth would presumably be less than 13.
“Whilst job creation is always welcome in the current economic climate, we would question whether this could not equally be achieved within the existing defined shopping centre, either by an existing store or an in-centre development.”
Pattern
A design and access statement submitted by Dalkin Scotton Partnership on behalf of Aldi says the store’s customers generally used other shops because it did not sell things like lottery tickets, cigarettes, newspapers.
It also said that it did not have departments such as a butchery, fishmongers or bakery.
It says: “As a result an Aldi store does not compete directly with the specialist food shops, newsagents or durable goods stores in the local vicinity.
“It would therefore be complementary to the existing trading pattern within the area.”
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For me it would mean that i don’t have to go out of Bridgnorth to shop as i do at present. The supermarkets that we have in Bridgnorth are useless and do not stock the products that we need.Bring it on ASAP and help everyone in Bridgnorth have a better choice and less costs. Aldi are great. Travelling to Kidderminster or Shrewsbury is stupid.
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New supermarket’ could harm ( affix town name here )trade
Same story different town..
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Absolutely, look at the Walmartising of America, it has made the small town high streets into ghost towns. The supermarkets start offering more and more besides food! In America Walmart has all this plus, auto parts and repair, tyres, hardware, garden centre, chemist, toys and bicycles plus more all under one roof. Do you want everyone put out of business? Think very carefully before giving these supermarkets more stores and more floor space.
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What difference will that make to Bridgnorth unless they start selling 2nd hand clothes. There must be at least six charity shops on Bridgnorth High street and a Greggs but not a lot else…Its unfortunate but if you want a traditional high street you’ll have to go to Blists Hill Museum..
The death of the High Street has as much to do with monthly pay than supermarkets.
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WalMart has not put stores in america out of business, I should know I live here, we have a thriving WalMart and and also many smaller stores and other supermarkets local to our town.
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btw – I should make it clear that by ‘not put stores out of business’ I mean that it is not the only store of it’s type and that there is plenty of other stores competing in its market…I’ve no doubt some business were displaced/out of business but on the whole its impact is not as scary as the pundits have us beleive
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I lived there for 20 years and saw it happening!
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How would this harm trade????? It would create jobs and it would be fair to have something this side of town. The council should encourage changes instead of stuck in there OLD ways!!! and if they didnt charge as much taxes to shops in the Bridgnorth area especially the high street business might be able to survive!!!
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The council do not set the national non-domestic rates for shops in Bridgnorth, or anywhere else.
The Government does that!
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@ Annie – Have you considered buying from the market, supporting small local businesses that could really do with your business right now, rather than an overseas based corporation like Aldi, which imports a huge amount of their overly processed “food”? If you don’t want the hassle of driving to Kidderminster or Shrewsbury, why not have it delivered?
@ Libra – Erm, exactly what taxes do “the council” charge to shops in Bridgnorth? They don’t levy Council Tax on businesses, Business Rates are collected by “the council” but are passed directly to the Treasury and Income Tax and NI are nothing to do with local authorities. If you want to see a vibrant High Street, do you really want to encourage more edge of town, loss leading, characterless, retail shed developments? Or is “cheap food” the only important issue here?
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Cheap food is the issue here. If I shopped in M&S with the wages we get, we would starve. Literally. If I can get cheap food to fee d my family, and yes, I make sure they get all the requirements they need from their meals, then I will continue to buy cheap food for as long as I can. I wish I did have the money to spend in M&S to get the tiny foods in large boxes, but I don’t so I do the best I can and make sure I get value for my money. With VAT going up, and prices on food and fuel, I think us poor people are entitled to ask for a cheap superstore to feed ourselves.
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We buy meat from Beaman’s in low town because a) pound for pound it’s cheaper than meat from the supermarkets and b) it’s much higher quality. Actually, b) links to a), because you’re not paying for water at the butcher’s, unlike the supermarket pumped-up fayre. You get more actual meat for your money. You can see this when you stir fry supermarket chicken; it rapidly becomes stir-boiled chicken.
Similarly, our local farm shop sells excellent home made pies, bursting with meat, for £2,50. The equivalent Asda “Extra Special” pie contains less meat and costs £4.50.
Just because it’s on a supermarket shelf doesn’t automatically make it cheaper. Shop around for the best value and support local traders and producers in the process.
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Max ok hold my hands up shouldn’t be blaming the council for high taxes but they should be encouraging new businesses to the town, which would create jobs especailly when a company like Novelis is closing.
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I’m not on about meat, I’m on about everyday groceries. And I do shop around, using local butchers is expensive to other places that don’t fill their meats with water. I can get cheap veg in Tescos in Telford as well as other food but to have a cheap superstore in Bridgnorth would save me even more money on fuel as I wouldn’t have to travel so far.
You people need to allow Bridgnorth to grow instead of stifling it with refusing to allow big supermarkets to set up and have some healthy competition where we benefit.
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Veg on Bridgnorth market is significantly cheaper than Tesco in Telford. I live in Telford but have to visit Bridgnorth at least once a week and I buy all my fruit, veg and meat in the town.
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Forget the civic society what about the people of Bridgnorth we need competition.Most of the people who try to change Bridgnorth are incomer’s who seem to moan about everything.They moan about parking outside their houses they moan about riverside parking when they bought their houses they knew what parking was like.Don’t listen to them,build it think of the job’s and what other investment it will bring to the town.I remember Tatung wanting to build a new factory some years ago this was refused so they moved to Telford.So listen to us REAL lifelong residents of Bridgnorth.
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The Civic Society need to open their minds to change instead of trying to keep their old ways.
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The Civic Society should be more forward thinking rather than stagnant. There is life outside of High Town and Low Town is also part of Bridgnorth don’t you know.
The BCS are in dnger of becoming the same as the out of touch Shrewsbury lot and their NIMBY association.
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If the demand is there for a supermarket then so be it. Businesses stand or fall by the ‘traffic’ they command. While we are at it let’s have an out of town McDonalds restaurant as well. I cannot get a quick meal or a hot drink early in the morning without having to wait for the numerous town centre coffee shops to open and also pay for more than 40 minutes parking to use them.
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Sainsbury have never got half the goods their other branches stock and it seems very often their prices are more than other branches . I think it will do good and stop other shops ripping off the public.
I do believe Aldi’s fresh fruit and veg are second to none and delivered every day, thats a lot more than the market stall holders that insist in getting of no matter what the freshness is.
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urrgh aldi,
i mean if it were a half decent brand even a tesco i wouldnt mind but ALDI, we dont want that here NO WAY
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They do a nice range of cured meats and pickles
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I’d rather have meats and pickles that haven’t been ill in the first place…..
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I have to go out of town to do a cheap shop, the Tescos in town don’t stock half the items I need and sainsburys is getting too expensive as is the Co-op, and M&S is well out of the question. About time we had a cheap supermarket in Bridgnorth – this town is full of charity shops, opticians and retirement homes.
Let something new come to Bridgnorth.
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A german invasion of Bridgnorth, whatever next? Mobilise Mannering and company.
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That’s MAINWARING old chap!!
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I say, would you two be awfully kind enough not to argue over spelling?
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Wilson – don’t bring your public school airs and graces on here!!
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Terribly sorry, sir.
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Does no one in this country care that all towns are becoming generic?
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….or in the case of quite a few parts of Shropshire, geriatric….
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So you are saying that Bridgnorth should keep their expensive traders, and we should be forced to shop in Bridgnorth instead of going to places like Telford and Kidderminster to buy cheap food?
As I said before, Bridgnorth is full of charity shops, opticians and retirement homes – we need better shops with cheaper food. A fast food place would become popular with the younger generation.
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I am talking about towns all over this country! Fast food for the young? – there is also an obesity epidemic!!!
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in all fairness the younger generaition of which i am a part enjoy the subway, fish&chip shops and efes we have already. And there is no issue with sainsburys, tesco’s and the co-op if you want supermarkets also the traders are not expensive if you go towards the end when there getting rid of whats left and i know you need more choice than whats left but even so 2 o’clock would see lower prices than the origonal relativly low prices
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The High Street as we know it has disappeared for good. The need to source cheaper goods and the quality of different foods from around the world has seen to that. So to call a town a “market town” is for the purposes of tourism only these days.
Bridgnorth is no longer a real market town, bearing in mind the market is only really available on a Saturday. Historically it may have been, but not now.
So the civic society are wrong in their stance against competition and value for money for the paying customer as well as the generation of jobs. In a democratic society the wishes of the majority outweigh those of the minority, and the majority want new choices.
This is the 21st century and it is time for the town to reinvent itself and not continue down the same road(sorry for pun) as other High Street’s with charity shops etc.etc.
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to all those who complain about supermarkets
YOU have the power to put them out of business
they are only coming to bridgnorth because the people of bridgnorth are underwriting their development by offering to pay for it over years with their own hard earned cash
how can they say they are against supermarkets its like being against breathing
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Sandra, you seem to feel cheap food is the only thing that matters. What about value and quality. Just beacuse you want the cheapest thing going and therefore force yourself to drive miles to get it doesn’t mean a whole town centre’s trade should be flushed down the toilet. As The Original Jake says meat is actually better value at the local butchers and better for your family. I think you need to be more open minded and think about the consequences of only buying cheap supermarket food.
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bridgnorth is just a dump why shop there same boring things on the same old boring market can t belive people live there
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Why not Aldi. Can’t those folks at the Civic Social see that it will keep trade in Bridgnorth. I go shopping to Telford or Kidderminster to a supermarket and then do all my other shopping there, not back in Bridgnorth. If we had an Aldi, then I would use the High Street more instead of shopping out of town. Bridgnorth shops are just awful in the High Street anyway, charity shops, tea shops and card shops. What a selection!! Sainsburys and Co-op – so expensive and as for M&S, take out a mortgage. What a pleasant change it would be to be able to do a shop in Bridgnorth at a reasonable cost and not have to travel.
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I always try to buy local where possible. If you buy in a locally run shop eg. butchers, most of the money (between 40% and 80%) gets regenerated and gets put back into the area you live in. If you buy from any supermarket, you are lucky to see 5% of the revenue put back into the community.
If the majority of people do want to see this development, make them put it in the town centre or near to it.
There are so many reasons, for instance the eviromental impact, not have this store, but only a few for it.
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Have got to agree with 16 Dawnella. I shop at other towns but if Aldi came to Bridgnorth i would more than likely shop completely in town.Would save having to travel.Would they rather have Waitrose(i guess it is the people who live near to the proposed site that are nimby types)or snobs?Please let us have a bit of variety in the town. Fed up with all the charity shops,estate egents,opticians and overpriced stalls on a Saturday.
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#10 It is Mainwaring Jeffery, ‘you stupid boy!’
Interestingly in Shrewsbury the planning committee put Lidl through hoops to get permission for a store on the site of a 1930s pub in Harlescott which many discerning residents thought was an architectural gem.
The first application was architect designed so that was thrown out. The design was then dumbed down and finally accepted with car park put to the front so as to minimise the impact of the building on this historical corner. A fire at the empty pub meanwhile was locally blamed on Germans!
I do get the feeling that if this was a Waitrose application the reaction would be more like that in Shrewsbury at the moment.
Anyone who worked as a lorry driver would tell you that the food from most of the big supermarkets (and that would include M&S) is the same with different packaging.
I agree about shopping around and supporting local business but people need to have the choice.
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Nice to see so many people taking an interest!
The point about objecting to the planning application isn’t about who it is or what they sell, it’s where they’re intending to build it! The government and our local planners both say shops should be in the Town Centre, not on their own a long way away from other shops – but if nobody objects they just might be allowed to build it where they want to.
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my hometown is going through the same agonies
about morrisons and asda it is/was a small-ish town which has grown outward to twice its size and the shops are fewer halifax and huddersfield at either end but we want sonething in the middle like you people
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aldi will be welcomed by me i have to go out of town to feed my young family not everyone is able to afford the co op and m&S sainsburys prices i was most upset when tesco could not come to town these people forget that we are the future and they are trying to push us out of our hometown bridgnorth will eventually end up like ironbridge
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