Teen beauty spot drinkers are ramblers, not rebels
- Dave Burrows
Planners ordered to stay on Newport visit bus
Thursday 23rd February 2012, 12:35PM GMT.
Protesters block in the minibus carrying planning chiefs to the site visit
Protesters surrounded a minibus full of council planning chiefs when they refused to get out to see sites in Newport earmarked for new supermarkets.
One woman shouted into the bus ‘You should be ashamed of yourselves’ as tempers frayed during the fracas in Station Road yesterday. The protesters swarmed round the minibus to stop it leaving.
They also blocked the road to traffic in both directions during the heated exchanges.
Gary Wade, a member of the Save Newport Campaign Group, persuaded the group to let the bus leave and it departed to a chorus of boos after a 10-minute stand-off.
The confrontation happened at about 4pm when Telford & Wrekin Council plans board members and officers arrived in Newport in a minibus to see three separate development sites.
A crowd of about 70 protesters had gathered in Station Road to voice their opposition to a plan which will see a 50,000sq ft Sainsbury’s superstore built if planners give it the go-ahead next month. Tempers frayed when the planners parked opposite the site and refused to get off the bus.
Councillor Adrian Meredith tried to persuade the party to walk through the site but the council’s head of planning, Michael Barker, said it was not necessary.
Telford & Wrekin Council member Councillor Adrian Meredith told Mr Barker: “You haven’t got the guts to get out and face the people. That’s how much Newport means to you.”
When the minibus was eventually allowed to leave the planners visited a site off Audley Avenue, which is earmarked for a 33,000sq ft supermarket, and Mere Park Garden Centre, which could be changed into a foodstore if its owner wins an appeal next month.
David Parker, of the Save Newport Campaign Group, said: “We were delighted with the turnout and the peaceful protest.”
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A minority with their banal “Save Newport” campaign seem intent on destroying the long term future of the town they purport to represent for everyone else.
400 jobs and a modern, lower-cost superstore with competitive petrol prices would be a real boon for the town and mean more people shop in Newport, not less. So many Novaportans currently travel to Asda & Aldi at Donnington and Tesco stores at Wellington & Stafford because Newport’s Waitrose and Co-op are overpriced and don’t offer the range of products most families demand.
The proposed Sainsbury’s will actually attract me and many, many people I know from the surrounding area TO Newport. Of course, the parochial “Save Newport” brigade haven’t thought of that.
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Utter nonsense! Firstly, edge of town supermarkets have been shown to have detrimental effects on town centres. Secondly, the 400 jobs are not all full time jobs, the majority will be part-time. Thirdly, there are other vacant and brown field sites that could accommodate a supermarket, we don’t need our green fields to be ripped apart to provide ‘consumer choice’. The only reason this particular site has been chosen is because Telford & Wrekin Council are in a deep hole financially and they stand to make a £21 million windfall from the sale of the site to Sainsbury’s. The fact that this WILL kill Newport’s town centre if it is allowed to go ahead seems not to bother T&W.
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It’s not utter nonsense – it’s a different opinion.
And the problem with part time jobs is? Part time suits a lot of people! Have you considered the number of mothers in the town with small children? Part time work would be a boon for them as commuting for part time work is not economical as they’d need a car and have to fork out for petrol. There are very few employers left in the town but you’d happily reject 400 new jobs.
It’s a marshy field with a couple of horses in it next to a main road – you make it sound like Regents Park. The country is growing. We need more homes and more facilities except a few busybodies in Newport are still living in the 1930s.
It won’t kill Newport at all. Stop scaremongering.
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It is not a question of rejecting employment, the 400 jobs need to be taken into context, they will be mostly low paid and part time AND the very presence of Sainsbury’s will create unemployment as other businesses fold due to unfair competition. So we may end up with a situation where we actually end up losing more jobs than we gain.
So the field is not Regents Park, so what? It is utilised daily by walkers, dog walkers, bird watchers, photographers, cyclists and for socialising. A place does not have to be an area of outstanding natural beauty, it does not even have to be natural, but people still appreciate open spaces – it contributes to the overall quality of life, take it away and people’s lives become that much poorer.
I would not deny people homes nor facilities, but there are better places for these than the green spaces that currently help to enrich our lives.
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I respect your opinion but it is competition. It is not “unfair” competition.
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Before you know it some Owen type from Dibley will be announcing that they’ve found the first ever pink six toed crocodile eating marsh rabbit on the site and that it will be threatened by any development within 10 miles, except of course the houses that they will want built for their kiddiewinkies.
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It’s a different opinion that flies in the face of the mounting evidence that out of town supermarkets kill off highstreets.
It’s also a different opinion shared by….oh that’s right, the head of Sainsbury’s!
There are plenty of brownfield sites dotted in and around Newport that could quite happily take the low cost supermarket that many seem to want for the town. Although not the monstermarket that T&W seem to want to foist on us.
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Firstly, Newport town centre is dead already. Dont get me wrong, I love Newport, but what ‘town centre’ shops do we have that will be affected?! Charity shops, estate agents, pubs, takeaways and card shops. The last time I went into Sainsbury’s I remember getting my haircut and buying a new house…….
Part-time jobs? Better than no jobs…
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Unlike you, the Save Newport brigade have thought about the damage that the supermarket might do to Newport. Do you really think that the High Street will benefit from a massive supermarket selling a vast range of products? What possible incentive will people have to go into town when they can buy things cheaper at Sainsburys?
It might not be so bad if they were building it on land in the middle of the town that wasn’t currently open/agricultural.
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The last time I looked Newport seemed to consist of bookies, card shops and charity shops. There is a butcher, a couple of chemists and a lot of fast food shops and bars plus a number of estate agents.
I don’t believe that a branch of Sainsburys is going to have the impact that some people are suggesting. I am sure that some shops will disappear and of course I feel sorry for them, but I’m afraid that I’m inclined to think that the supermarket will benefit the townspeople (if not the town centre) and also save a lot of car journeys to Donnington, Wellington or Stafford.
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Then look harder.
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This is the type of shallow comment that is so sad! Obviously PK isn’t a person who uses, would ever use, or would therefore miss the High Street! Just driven through Newport and checked out a fabulous range of outlets including clothes shops, a cook shop, a travel agent, book shops, a music shop, specialist gift shops, a fancy dress shop, a lingerie shop, chemists, a butcher, a video and game shop, computer shops, an electrical wholesaler, shoe shops, opticians, jewellers, card shops, news agents, a specialty party gift shop, a mobile phone shop, bakeries, coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and bars and a fabulous market with some of the freshest, cheapest local produce you could wish for! Sorry, I know I’ve missed a few! PK, are you sure you’re talking about the same Newport!
Unfortunately though all these beautiful shops have one thing in common, Sainsbury’s do it all, and have the power to do it cheaper! And as for bringing people into the town, as Sainsbury’s chief, Justin King says “shrink the high street” and convert the empty shops into housing!
It’s all about money for T&W, and sadly, I don’t suppose any of it will find its way back to this wonderful town. Oh yes, there’s a few charity shops and bookies as well!
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Thanks PC, I didn’t have the time to write them all out yesterday…the list was too long!
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PC, that is a lovely long list of shops there, but with some very big problems.
Shoe shop – employs what, 4 people? its Clarks, people who buy clarks shoes will continue to, regardless of a supermarket.
Book shop – Second hand books, employs say 2 people? And used by very few.
Chemist – Employs very few, people who use it will continue to.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Close 20 town centre shops and you will be miles away from losing more than 400 jobs! More like 100.
The people who use the town centre shops will continue to. Old folk who cant get ‘out of town’ etc. People who use the butchers are not going to suddenly start buying meat from Sainsbury’s, they already have the options of co-op and waitrose.
The death of every town centre in the UK is the internet and online shopping.
The only issue for me is the location, although saying that, i drive by several times a day, and there are very few regular walkers/dog walkers/horses that enjoy that plot of land.
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And a local shop that sells precious things!
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Times are hard, but saving a few pence in order to ruin a town centre….wrong. Just look at wellington, us local traders are on our knees!
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No offence but Wellington has more healthy shops than Newport. Wellingtons problem are the clients!
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Wellington has the largest market in the county
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Well said. 70 people turn out from a population of how many? It seems to me that the minority are in favour of a town that now has little to offer, except of course if you like Charity shops.
Personally I think it may be what the town needs to revive it, after all, surely it can’t get any worse can it?
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Only 70 turned up because like me they were at work, perhaps if they turn up to look out of their minibus windows at the weekend (on overtime?) then more (including myself) would have been able to voice our objections. Or was the turn out so low because we all know it was a done deal 2 years ago!
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Minroity view – How do you know that?
400 jobs – Really? I’d be amazed if that is accurate. In anycase it does not account for the number of businesses and therefore jobs that will be lost from the High Street.
Attract more people into Newport – No it won’t. It will attract more people to the outskirts of Newport who will park their car, do their shop, load their car and then get back in it and go home. How does that benefit Newport. What it does benefit are the Newport folk who currently shop in Telford supermarkets by saving them a little bit of petrol money.
Though, in common with many other similar size towns across the country, the Newport High Street probably isn’t what it once was, it still has some excellent local independant retailers who provide excellent customer service. The sad thing is that I suspect many of those will be gone as a result of these proposals. Well done to the protestors.
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Sainsburys – low cost? I don’t think so!
400 jobs? Versus how many lost in the town centre and the businesses that support them?
Shoppers currently travelling to Asda and Aldi (hardly a huge distance) switching to Sainsburys? I doubt it, otherwise they would likely already be using Sainburys at Telford.
Waitrose and the Co-op may not be cheap either, but I believe they have higher ethical standards than Sainsburys. As for choice, I can buy products in Waitrose Newport that I can’t find in Sainsburys – choice can work in more than one way. Most of the so called consumer demand is created by corporate advertising making us think we want these things.
Sainsburys Newport would attract people to a store isolated from the town centre. Customers will arrive in their cars, spend money there which will mainly go to Sainsbury’s shareholders and senior management bonuses (what did Justin King receive last year?) and they will drive straight home again. Most of them wouldn’t go near another Newport shop.
In order for this store to be viable it will either need to draw more trade from Newport shops than the developers acknowledge (thereby destroying existing jobs) or rely on trade not from the locality (which defeats the sustainability arguement). Even the developer’s retail consultants admit the store would exceed local need.
Would you have a similar sized store built in every small town in the UK? If not, why have one in Newport? I would suggest this is more about TWC filling a gap in its budget and Sainsburys increasing market share than it is about satisfying a need in Newport.
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Well done to these protestors! I hope the arrogance of shropshires many ruthless planners and developers was shaken. Tesco, sainsburys, waitrose, asda destroy the life of every town and village they go into. Keep up the good work Newport!
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How inane. Who can blame them for not getting off. The so called “peaceful” protest involved a mob of people surrounding them and shouting abuse.
I am sure they must have felt threatened. The old saying “you catch more flies with honey than vinegar” holds true and I would have thought that this agressive and hostile approach has probably antagonised planners.
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So what would you have suggested the protestors do? Applaud the planning team? Invite them to tea and biscuits? The planners have the potential to destroy both the local environment of the town and the livelihoods of those who work there – I think it’s perfectly reasonable to expect hostility from the community.
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Smart thinking…not
The planning committee are the ones you should be making friends of, not getting their backs up. A case of self inflicted bullet wound to the lower limbs me thinks.
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Blatant, aggressive Thuggery is the answer is it, i hope your children have not learnt anything from this..
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Tea and biscuits, cracking idea! Actually sitting down with them and chatting like a real human being over a cuppa. What a weird concept…..
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Lizzie, were you there then?
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So you were standing outside the mini bus with cups of tea and a variety of biscuits were you..
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I had a pack of dog biscuits on me. You know the one’s that give you healthy teeth, gums & bones, including a nice shiny coat – a bit like Pantene pro. V in my opinion.
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Does the figure of 70 protesters consist of 35 people and 35 dogs??
The picture suggests this!!
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To be fair this issue of supermarkets is not confined to Newport, Shropshire or UK, it is a international disease. Small traders and farmland being traded off against the big supers’. Where there was once homegrown produce to be bought locally, there is an offer of suspect meats and vegetables from all over the place.
Telford & Wrekin Council do not pander to the big guys whilst trying to kick the small guys into touch (Wellington traders, for example).
There is a place for big supermarkets but not all over the place! We enjoy shopping at supermarkets as much as anyone but we do our best and purchase from local traders as far as their product ranges go and when in UK we use the local shops where they still exist.
Telford & Wrekin Council and other should be encouraging local traders and bring back life to desolate and rundown town centres.
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Good Lord, I thought I was the only one!
Well said Mr.Peas
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Perhaps if they supported the plans, a lot of them might get jobs there. Would keep them off the streets anyway.
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I wouldnt agree that over 70 people in the middle of a working day was a minority opinion.
1. since when was sainsbury’s a lower priced superstore?
2. the argument made isn’t against development in the town.
3.Why does the proposed supermarket have to go on a greenfield site, when there are brownfield sites avaliable?
please think about your own Parochial opinions before commenting on the hard work of people who are out to protect the intrests of the town’s future.
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400 low paid part time jobs; building on green fields; encouraging people to come to the edge of Newport, to spend their money with a multi-national corporation, rather than IN Newport with local retailers in a traditional High Street.
No Thanks
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This cooperative council is ignoring the majority view of Newport residents.The highstreet is sustainable ,Newport simply doesn’t need another supermarket, the council is simply asset stripping so it can continue wasting money. There is a shop for anything you may want within ten miles of Newport, there’s no need for another.
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Our borough council, namely Telford & Wrekin stand to make millons from the sale of the Greenfield area next to Station Road to Sainsburys Plc.
This money will not be used for the benefit of Newport/Church Aston or the people, with the main High St. suffering as an end result.
Land that is of historical interest which is enjoyed by many for walking, wildlife, picnics, etc.(not just by the ’70′ shown) will be lost forever, to be replaced by a few hundred part-time jobs, concrete & nectar points, alongside goods made in China.com
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I must have always gone by with my eyes shut, other than the odd dog walker and a couple of horses I have never seen anyone there for a picnic, what are they Parachute Regiment trained?
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Yes, you need to be now that the borough council has put up an army type assault course, consisting of extra fencing, gates & a blocked right of way.
All paid for by us, the taxpayer.
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Lovely fencing errected by t&w around the field , worth spending £10k of tax payers money??? Not even any planning agreed yet!! Along with my other four legged friends it makes a great adventure play ground. Bit disappointed about the pad lock and gates, my walker has to jump over them now! Isnt it a public right of way????? Woof woof
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Simple get your thinking head on and do not say is it a right of way? check to ensure it is a right of way and remains a right of way etc etc.
Breaking the law of trespass is exactly that a law breaker no better than the criminal element kept behind lock and key .
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Sounds like hand bags at 5 paces to me
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Please bear in mind that if this particular application for a Hypermarket on a Green Field site was proposed by and financially benefical to a local landowner it would have been laughted out of the room by these same planners. The argument is not against development but against its abuse of Green Field. Also remember that previous applications for low-cost supermarkets in the town have been turned down by these same planners for the reason of being unneccessary for a town the size of Newport.
Support the Save Newport campaign and put a stop to political corruption!!!!- SOME CHANCE THERE
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The biggest argument I have is where it is being built not what is being built.
As a Sainsbury’s shopper there are several places that could accommodate a supermarket if the town is in need of one, but why choose an open field and fill it with a Sainsbury’s bigger than the one at Telford Town Centre?
Couldn’t they just fill Focus or somewhere near there?
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The trouble is you are not allowed to build a supermarket (food shop) in close proximity to industrial areas, so the old focus store and that entire area is out of bounds.
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Where did you get that information from, I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I can’t find anything that refers to that law. As far as I can gather there have been many supermarkets built on industrial estates.
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Paul, I’m not an expert, but how come one of the other applications is for a foodstore on the existing Classic Furniture site? Not that they’re likely to get permission granted because TWC don’t stand to receive any money from this one!
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Isn’t the Co-op next door to the (concrete?) factory in town?
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Newport is a beautiful market town, and should be kept as such. How many supermarkets does it really need not to mention the corner shops that it always has.
My family are still based there where as I live in a larger city, I think its interesting that ‘some’ people want the more rural life with the amenities of a larger town. I would say to the bosses of Sainsbury’s and the council lets build it in your back garden shall we? since you’re so keen!
I think the people of Newport have spoken and the clear message is clear off,
well done :)
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Routinely I’ll travel past Newport several times a month. However I have not stopped off in the centre for….. probably years & if asked “why?” I’d have to say, & I do not wish to be antaganostic or disrespectful, but, there’s nothing there! It’s a bigger Wellington.
See PK’s blog above. It says an awful lot.
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I bet these nimby’s will be shopping in the new stores within a week of opening.
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We’ll have to once all the other stores have shut…
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Probably shot yourselves in the foot by preventing the site visit. You represent less than 1% of the population of Newport. What about the rest?
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Peasbody – you are repeating the Sainsbury dogma so accurately I believe you may be employed by them or the developers.
Many Newport people go to ASDA, Tesco et al on their way home from work, because many (if not most) people in Newport work out of town. Newport (popn less than 20k) does not need a supermarket of this size, it will only be viable if a sizeable number of people travel to it from other population centres so adding to traffic figures.
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Firstly I lived in gnosall for six years, and 7 days a week a passed through Newport.
Very rarely did I ever feel the need to stop and shop!
Someone compared it to Wellington, I don’t agree, I prefer Wellington, some interesting shops their with competitive prices, unlike Newport!
But crucially I CAN PARK in Wellington!!!
I’m getting tired of this lame excuse of blaming supermarkets for killing trade, it’s the businesses that are killing themselves, by not investing/expanding and generating creative new business ideas helping them become competitive!!!
Not being funny, but look at B&M, who were they 5 years ago… Now they are everywhere, and profitable!!!
Nom Noms, a fairly new outlet in Newport, seems to be doing well, why? Because they offer something different and new to the town… In a high street full of pubs, take away’s, charity shops, and no parking, I’m not surprised trade is down… You need more B&M’s and Nom Noms
I don’t work in retail, yet I am a consumer…
I must ask though, all these people that are complaining about supermarkets, does it stop you doing your weekly shopping in them???
Oh yeah, but that’s different I’m sure you’ll say!
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Well it is not the supermarket that takes the trade from the town center, it would be the PEOPLE of Newport and surrounding area who would go there and go they would with the high principles they had tucked away for another campaign.
To be honest when we talk Newport what shops?? , a few independents selling what people want on occasion , a cheap as chips shop, a few opticians, and a few banks and estate agents .
Fed up with this “they are only part time”, “low paid jobs” yep the attitude of the long term idle and benefit scroungers and we can add to that the pathetic so called job snobs .
People are becoming to posh to do an honest days work these days. It would be interesting to know how many of those demonstrators actually work for a living or indeed have ever had a full or part time job? .
Being a nimby is fine but do not expect to get support in these troubled times.
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I recognise many of the folk in the picture as retired…and standing up for something they believe in.
Maybe if you popped along to see the wizard he might grant you a heart instead of the Daily Mail wrapped stone you currently have sitting in your chest.
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“To posh.” (Try using ‘too’, or are you just as lazy as the people you criticise without knowing anything about their background?)
I hope your precious ‘hard working’ job doesn’t involve using English grammar, or the ability to spell?
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My grammar is not the topic these peoples behavior is, just in case you do not understand the topic.
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What do you class as an ‘honest’ days work? The city banker who gets a big bonus whilst hedging ‘our’ funds on risky investments, where failure is rewarded? Perhaps the overpaid footballers’ who are on tens of thousands of pounds a week, who play for money and not pride anymore.
Maybe the politicians, elected by us, but who fiddle their expense claims in order to pocket even more money.
Lastly, the big corporations, etc. who have accountants who know every tax loophole & tax avoidance trick in the book.
The plumber/tradesperson who charges a high call-out fee, along with an extortionate rate for doing a simple repair job, then you understand how he paid for his BMW or 4×4.
Unemployment is a national problem, not just a Newport one. Newport high street did have a ‘jobcentre’ once upon a time, until that was closed! Newport had a postal sorting office – yes, you guessed, that was closed down too.
Did you also know that you can ‘own’ your house, yet it can be taken away from you or your family to pay for your nursing or care fees, regardless of how much tax or N.I. you have paid during your lifetime. Is that fair then?
I know people have opinions, but at the same time you are very quick to tar people with the same (bigoted) brush. You judge them without knowing them.
You work to live not live to work!
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Bankers mmm possibly got a point .
Maybe the politicians, elected by us, but who fiddle their expense claims in order to pocket even more money,
Have they not been dealt with??
Nobody is safe with you are they ? the plumber /tradesman who charges a high call out charge??? as long as all is explained by them before you call them out whats your problem?? if it is to high do it yourself what business it it of yours what people earn and what they drive . My call out is £65 weekday £105 Sunday , a call out is exactly that 7 days a week 24 hours in my business the call out charge from me should be the last resort, as i can usually contact and send contractors etc staright away , however they in turn charge me a call out which ultimately the customer pays.
In my view a justified one do you want to be available 7 days a week 24 hours all weathers and gain the qualification ? if so go get trained and earn your money don’t dictate to people how much they should charge. Unfortunately people are on occasion just to stupid to ask for all charges up front i and many would make them aware from the very start as do most tradesman with not one hidden extra, its not all like rouge traders .
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Who do these SAve Newport people think they are? Self serving, self elected NIMBYS with too much time on there hands. So smug with their campagin and their little website and facebook page patting each other on the back with every update and photo they post. I dont remember voting for them do you? Yet they portray themselves as the voice of Newport. Sorry you but you are not!
A lot of people i know who may have been sympathetic to this cause are now getting turned off by the vitriol which is nowing sounding extremists in its nature. Ripping down fences and harrasing Councillors who only came to look at the site is just getting stupid now.
So what if the site is greenfield. Im sure the houses these people live in were once greenfield. Places grow and it happens, its just a scabby looking field anyway.
The fact is if there wasnt demand for this store Sainsburys would not be coming along. A lot of people welcome new choice and the jobs they bring. Many of us do spend our money on the weekly shop outside of the town, why not spend it in Newport.
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Hurrah!
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You never know, they might be wrong. It might be the best thing that ever happened to Newport. It might be that it’s Newport that bucks the trend for out of town superstores destroying the high street.
But they (and yes I) don’t believe it and they’re standing up for what they think is right. When the planning department won’t even talk to the people whose town is potentially being ripped apart what other option do they have than to make a noise that might be heard?
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Why did the police not give the planners full protection so they could view the sight??, should have used battons, tazer, cs gas, on this lot .
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Should use the same tactics on the Newport Hunt as well. Yobs on horseback.
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Shield Face speaks for so many in the Newport area. The Save Newport people think that their’s is the only argument. It was embarrasing for them that they prevented the site visit. If I were a planner I would not think highly of them. They are but a few amongst thousands. The rest of us in Newport want progress not NIMBYism. They are only interested in themselves. What about the young and the low paid and those who want a cheaper house but can’t get on the ladder?Those who want a job? It’s not all about the comfortable middle aged, middle classes.
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Well done Bob and spot on , but i was told most in the picture are retired? water must be good in newport, or the one on here who said is on the gin..
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I think if you go back and read it carefully that’s not what I said, although I appreciate that it may have been slightly ambiguous.
If you need help with any difficult passages you only have to ask…my call out fee isn’t too expensive…
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In all honesty perhaps looking at them the police may have overreacted by not letting the people out of the mini bus, they look a fearsome bunch .
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We don’t think that ours is the only argument, but we know our argument is right! I am not against progress… whatever progress is, but I am against the destruction of greenfield sites and the imposition of an unnecessarily large superstore.
The houses are not being built to provide the young and low paid with homes, these are not social housing… developers don’t make enough profit on social housing (this is why there is a housing shortage, the council houses were sold off and have never been replaced). The houses are being built to justify the existence of the superstore! T&W know our population is too small to justify a superstore of the size being proposed so they get round this by boosting Newport’s population and building hundreds of new homes. The homes therefore are not for the current population of Newport but to encourage outsiders to move into Newport.
All of this on greenfield sites, much used greenfield sites. The fields in question may not be everyone’s idea of beautiful, but they are much loved by those who use them… and a LOT of people use them!
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Mr Finch, your first sentance in your response shows how arrogant you and the Save Newport people really are. How patronising to say your side of the argument is right. How much more sanctimonious do you want to come across?
Newport is not like the Black Country with acres and acres of brownfield land available to build on. It is inevitable that new development will be needed on greenfield sites, as much as most of the current town was once greenfield and Id wager that your house was once greenfield as well!
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Never said it was , if my argument is wrong , and the save newport argument is wrong which one have you started up then ???
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Sorry that comment was directed at Mr Know it All Davies not you Mr Finch. Apologies.
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Typical ‘armchair politicians’ who cannot read for starters – Lol!
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They didn’t prevent the site visit, the planners didn’t have the guts (once again)to face the people who want to know why this greenfield site is being ripped up instead of the other sites better suited to the progress of Newport.
‘These people’ are not against progress, new affordable houses, cheaper supermarkets and the rest. They want it done sensibly and in the right areas of the town.
Since when was Sainsburys a cheap supermarket? Why can’t Mere Park be turned into a Morrisons?
Why can’t Focus become an Aldi? No one is against these sensible options other than the money grabbing T&W Council.
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Bob, if you are under the impression that the wider Station Road application will deliver low cost housing I suggest you check out the applicant’s Environment Statement which is publicly available on the TWC e-planning website. In 2.6.6. they say that in the area there appears to be “an over representation of low value, smaller housing units, and an undersupply of larger family dwellings.” Whilst they go on to state in 2.8.2 that the development would create “350 high quality homes (including affordable housing, subject to viability” I’m pretty sure that a developer is not obliged to deliver low cost housing if they can demonstrate it is not viable.
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Isn’t it strange how all these people are against development of greenfield sites, pray tell us what exactly was where your home was, 50,100 or even 200yrs ago? A greenfield per chance?
People have got to have somewhere to live,work and buy reasonable goods at reasonable prices, the term “I’m alright Jack” comes readily to mind.
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This argument is irrelevant. Just because houses may have been built on greenfield land in the past doesn’t mean it is now ok to build on greenfields. It was once acceptable to send children down mines, it is not acceptable now. So, I will try to explain this again… we are not opposed to housing or indeed a suitably sized supermarket, BUT NOT ON GREENFIELD SITES when there are alternative brownfield sites that could be used.
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Brown field sites “you say are acceptable” it does not work like that i am afraid .
Job creation etc out way that, once large developments have taken place areas on the out skirts will and should be swallowed up for development.
Brown field sites you speak of may have already been ear marked for other development in the next few years etc you will not know this until the relevant party decides to tell you.
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Actually a lot of the nearby houses were built on brownfield sites, but don’t let silly things like the facts get in the way of a good rant eh?
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Of course all building is on land that was once greenfield. So follwoing that arguement, would you allow anyone who had the money to fund a development build anything they wanted anywhere they wanted?
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But, people only started to use that field other than for the occasional dog walker after the proposals to make it look well used. It is not all that well used and you are bending the truth to suit your argument. There are pockets of green fields that do suit development and this is one of them. As usual the opposers believe only they are right and everyone else is wrong. Besides there are more in favour so you will probably have to live wit it.
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It is not true that people only started using the fields after the development was proposed, the fields have been used for decades. What evidence do you have that the fields are not well used? I use the fields almost daily and always meet others who also enjoy using the fields for recreational purposes. How many people, in your mind, would have to use the fields for them to be considered worth preserving? Plus, how do you know there are more people in favour of the developments than there are against them, have you carried out a survey? These are very glib statements!
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You are not going to get the developments or a supermarket in “the right areas of Newport”. No one is interested in building on those sites and especially supermarkets.
Take a reality check. A supermarket and many houses are coming to Newport and there is little you or I arguing on this page can do about it. Allowing the planners to view the sire properly may have helped but who wants to face aggression because that’s how it appeared. I suppose you will show up mob handed at the plans board next and scupper whatever chances you had. Passion is all well and good but don’t give others false hope.
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Telford & Wrekin have to find some way of recouping the money they’ve lost on developments at the Rail Depot, Southwater and Dawley recently. I just hope they don’t manage this project otherwise they’ll lose a fortune again.
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Mr Davies, I quite agree with you that low paid jobs are not a solution to unemployment in a long run.And increasing the number of shops and shopping centers in small towns won`t give long lasting jobs for small towns. I`m happy that we didn`t get our huge shopping centre into our town. It wouldn`t have brought people from bigger places to buy from “us”. It might only have brought a couple of curious persons to visit it once. Soon the big building would have been empty and our money just “gone with the wind”. Besides those complaining we don`t have this and that here are the first ones to travel elsewhere to buy for example clothes. Our shopping centre wasn`t planned to built in our beautiful park by the lake though, which was positive.Nor was it planned on the green fields…
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I’m surprised the rabbit has been produced out of the proverbial hat with “but the reintroduced rail line to Stafford will go straight through the middle of the proposed development”,however I sense the amount of compensation needed to bulldoze the housing estate where the station once stood may well be a bridge too far.
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Those fields were mostly farm land until someone sold out. If you were talking about the Shuker Fields I might agree with you but a few dog walkers does not a village green make. Telford and Wrekin Council own it and will do what they like with it. The fact that some don’t want to see it built on is academic. We all need to face up to reality on this ome.It is one of the most likely places to have new developments built on it. I would expect opposition from the locals but it won’t make any difference. You would do better to start looking at other green spaces and get them allocated as village greens because I think Station Road is done for!
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Well its the first time I’ve heard of Michael Barker being on the bus!
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