SIR – While the decision about whether Tesco should build a supermarket in Tenbury Wells looms over us, this is a plea to district councillors to turn this application down.

Tenbury retail businesses have had two major hits recently – the devastating floods of 2007 and the current bridge closure – but these would be nothing when faced with a retail giant flexing its muscles in our town.

Tesco’s sheer market dominance and the feeling it has too many stores everywhere gets backs up all around the country.

Even people who regularly use and approve of Tesco are beginning to wonder if it is over-represented (illustrated by its recent devastating Christmas sales figures).

And as Tesco continues to amass its land bank of sites for future developments there is a growing sense that Tesco bullies its way in against the wishes of local communities and that councils cannot afford to stand up to them, quite simply, because it has become too big for its boots.

Local people who want this development are blinkered by the promise of cheap food, but they are not seeing the bigger picture. Tesco will bring job losses greater than jobs gained, many small shops will close (in Llandrindod Wells 12 shops so far have closed since Tesco arrived).

The area around the bridge will become a problem area with the traffic congestion.

Do people really want another one-shop town like all the other cloned Tesco towns.

The community spirit and friendliness in Tenbury at the moment will be lost – Tesco till staff are discouraged from spending time talking to customers as it is not productive.

Empty shops will bring about lower property values for the town. Do people really want this?

At this moment there are about 300 groups in this country fighting Tesco for one reason or another, as in Tenbury. Surely they cannot all be wrong.

Tesco has a disregard for planning issues, treats its suppliers badly and builds downmarket gloomy stores which usually clash with local architecture.

Read the truth about Tesco in the books The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets by Joanna Blythman and Tescopoly by Andrew Simms and you will see what we are letting into our unique town.

Councillors, don’t be blinkered; represent Tenbury and vote this development out. If not, I would hate to have to say, “I told you so”.

A JONES
Tenbury Wells