Comments on: Tesco-opted

By: Abora

Abora — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:29:33 +0000

the above post is so true, McDisgusting closed down in a Sydney suburb because no body went there. Economics always holds true, if you don’t go there, they’ll leave. But you should definitely ask for a material change of use for the land, re-zoning etc or stack the council in favour of extremely restrictive opening hours … try everything and you can outlast the Romans.

By: Liam O

Liam O — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:42:38 +0000

George,
there is yet hope!
I’ve heard of similar situations in Australia where mega-stores have opened in small country towns only to be boycotted by the locals.
Many of these stores are merely waiting until their contract expires before they up stumps and leave the town; concerted public action can hold up the homogenizing effects of these behemoths.

By: Stephan

Stephan — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:27:56 +0000

Hi,
we can spread the word about Tesco. This article is the first snowball to start the avalanche.
I know some german Blogs and Forums where i can place the name Tesco with a nice little story (e.g. mentioning the facts you cited). I only heard the name once before i think. Now i know him better.

What about placing flyers with the facts in all the shops of the nearby town which will be affected? Consumers perhaps not often know that they are destroying their own city with their choice to buy.

Bad publicity is for sure the mightiest weapon in this struggle.

A mosquito is only a tiny little insect. But it stings and produces an annoying sound! Nobody wants to lie in bed with a mosquito.
So, mosquitos to the front.

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:15:28 +0000

How ludicrous this whole situation is, I spent over fifty years living in the UK and have seen this situation time and time again. I now live in Australia and the same thing happens here. The town of Maleny, up on the range in the hinterland of the Sunshine coast of Queensland fought hard and long to stop Woolworth building a store there. It went ahead, with an environmental impact and is being heavily boycotted by many of the town’s people. This company is so enormous and has vast resources, that they can keep that supermarket losing money for years, without effecting them one bit. At some stage in the future when new people move in and older ones move on it will start to make a profit.
There has to be some radical rethinking within our governments to update laws so that we are living in effective democracies and no longer ruled by big business. These huge supermarket companies are becoming the monsters that are damaging our societies forever, changing the character of our towns, causing destruction of the environment, displacing countless small businesses. What is our response, the average punter, we keeping pushing a trolley around those shopping aisles looking for the ‘bargain’, the ‘two for the price of one’ telling ourselves we only have to spend $30.00 and then we can claim a 4cent/litre discount on our fuel! As a species I sometimes think we are heading the way of the Dodo, if we don’t wake up very soon what’s going to be future for our children and their children? ………WAKE UP!

By: Craig Mackintosh

Craig Mackintosh — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:23:18 +0000

Hi Marcin – George wrote me to say the zoning is unfortunately locked into business use.

By: jeff

jeff — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:47:51 +0000

Sounds like a good suggestion from Marcin too! use everything to save your town.

Fight them tooth and nail, with the worst weapon of mass destruction, constant negative PR on TV. get some journalists in!!!

Get support from the outlying towns also. If you can get them onside, then part of the stores rationale for opening is gone. The retailers there are the ones who will lose also, not just in your town.

If the Council have the power to put conditions on the approval, load it up with things that are costly, and will benefit the town.

Look for some prior rulings on similar issues. I think McDonalds have been prevented from opening for similar issue in some places.

If it does open, boycott it. Ensure that the council mandates they rehabilitate the land to public park when they close!

If you really don’t want it, don’t let them think for a second that you will roll over. They need profit daily, and wont risk investment unless they can rely on apathy on your part to give in and go there to buy. They are experts on gauging apathy, you can bet on it.

good luck!

By: Chloe Wolsey

Chloe Wolsey — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:26:17 +0000

Good luck. It’s insane – in a time when we need to be going local, to provide any hope of food security. Have you tried a radio program like ‘You & yours’ with all you info?
Like any huge corporation, Tesco’s seems beyond the law. I think they earn 1 in every 6 pounds spent in the UK. That is the consumers fault,bottom line. If only the people of you town boycotted the damn thing – that would be the ultimate weapon. Just leave it customerles.

By: Marcin Gerwin

Marcin Gerwin — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:30:00 +0000

George, can you apply to the county council to change the purpose of the plot of land on which the supermarket is to be built? In Poland there are often functions for the individual plots of land designated by the city council, such as for example: housing, park, services etc. If it says “housing” on the map, than you cannot build a supermarket there which is in the category of “services”. Perhaps you could apply to change the function of the land on which the Tesco is to be built to e.g. forest or arable land?

I fully agree that it is a struggle for democracy. Democracy is not just about elections. It is about people being able to make decisions on their own. Best of luck for you guys in Machynlleth!