Town needs supermarket?
Letter: I am increasingly concerned about a highly vocal group of unelected, self-interested people opposing a new food supermarket.
Letter: With all the letters in the paper about the plans for the new shopping development, I suspect I was like the majority of people in the town – I had assumed that the need for a new food supermarket and cinema was so blindingly obvious.
However, as I understand it, the planning meeting to decide Oswestry's fate will be held in March, I am increasingly concerned that a small, but highly vocal group of unelected, self-interested people will be representing the town.
The truth is that a new supermarket would take trade from the other supermarkets, not small traders, and offer us more choice. Individual traders should not dictate what is in the wider interests of the town.
No-one puts a gun to your head and makes you shop at Tesco, Sainsbury's, or wherever. If you want to buy nice meat from our good butchers then keep spending there, that's your choice, but don't deny me my choice.
It is now vital that some simple facts are stated:
Oswestry desperately needs new shops, a cinema and other new facilities. We are the second largest town in Shropshire Council.
We urgently need new jobs. Developing the centre will create building work and once its open the new facilities must employ 200 to 300 people at least.
If we dont keep employers like Richard Burbidge Ltd in the town then will the last person to leave Oswestry please turn out the lights?
Can we all get a grip on reality and accept that a new store and cinema on the current Burbidge site is the only sensible solution and just get on with it?
Name and address supplied
