11th Jun 2008

Tesco's Last Gasp?

The Greens' Simon Grover rejects Tesco's claims to benefit the city

I would like to challenge Michael Kissman of Tesco to actually answer some of the concerns that residents have about the proposed superstore. I don't mind if it's at a public meeting, at a stall at the market, or just down the pub. I am confident I won't have to buy him a pint because he won't turn up. He doesn't even answer emails. Some "Communications Manager".

All he has ever done is trot out the same nonsense about what a marvellous thing his superstore will be for us, how Tesco is so proud to be investing in St Albans, how the "silent majority" think it's a great idea. I love that phrase "silent majority". How does he know what they think if they're silent?

It's important to tackle his argument again, for fear that someone might start believing him. Here's my Top Ten of Tesco Twaddle:

1. It's not "some" people who oppose the store, it's a vast majority. Stop Tesco has gathered thousands of signatures from local people, and our survey of people who actually live near the store found 95% against. Mr Kissman mentions his two surveys. One, as he says, was funded by Tesco. The other simply interviewed people in the high street, a substantial number of whom would not have been from St Albans, let alone lived near the site.

2. Supermarket jobs are not "high quality" with "competitive salaries". They are widely acknowledged to employ some of the lowest paid workers in the country.

3. The superstore would not "vastly improve the London Road area". If you exclude improvements to the run-down buildings which are only in that state because of Tesco, the main change the area would see would be a lot more traffic.

4. The superstore and car park would not "bring more customers to existing shops". The gridlock would deter shoppers, and the location of the store would draw people away from the high street. And it is in the nature of any shop to try to draw people from other shops.

5. The superstore would not "be of benefit to the local economy". The average new supermarket destroys 276 more jobs than it creates. On Tesco's figures that's a loss of over 500 jobs. Plus only 7% of the money spent in supermarkets is recirculated in the local area.

6. The site on London Road has not "been identified as a potential solution" to a supposed lack of food stores. Council reports have said that any such store should be in the city centre, which this site is not. In any case, Stop Tesco have found that the "retail need" for more food shops is based on dodgy statistics.

7. Tesco's traffic measures will not "prevent congestion". There is already congestion round the site. A superstore will make that congestion worse. There is no way around that fact.

8. Tesco is not "investing in St Albans". Tesco is investing in Tesco. There's nothing wrong with that, but please don't talk to us like we're idiots.

9. The superstore would not "add to the choice" of where we shop. It would reduce choice as already hard-pressed local shops are pushed into closing down. And the vast majority of the goods on sale in the superstore are already available in other stores.

10. In barrel-scraping desperation, Mr Kissman also points out that these "improvements" come "at no cost to the council or council tax payers". Thank you so much, Mr Kissman, for not charging us for your lovely supermarket. However, you seem to be forgetting about the huge cost of considering your application and (no doubt) your appeal (when your plan is refused), the cost to our local economy, the cost to our health and the cost to our environment.

Will Mr Kissman be at the council's planning meeting on 30th June? Let's hope so. And let's hope that as many local people as possible are there to greet him.

Simon Grover St Peter's Ward Candidate St Albans District Green Party