Having met with approximately 5 representatives of Tesco, at a meeting held today in The Crown Hotel, High Street, Boston Spa, it was obvious that these reps had done this so many times before and had 'pre-scripted' answers to everyone's questions, shall we say we were witnesses to a very well oiled and slick PR machine!
Linda asked one young gentleman representative "why do we need a Tesco or indeed another supermarket in Boston Spa, if for instance no one had a car, there is everything on the High Street that you can buy?" the gent replied "we aren't in competition with anyone here in Boston Spa, we are just giving an alternative to the existing shops" Linda then said "take Costcutter for instance which is our biggest shop in the village, there isn't anything you can't get there and the owners are so helpful, if you ask them to get you something, they do and they also supply wonderfully locally sourced fruit and veg, the best quality local farmers' meats, so they are supporting our whole community", the slick well oiled robot answered "well, we will do that as well", Linda replied "but you just said that you aren't in competition with anyone here, are you?" and Linda didn't hang around when he opened his mouth to speak. She isn't rude by the way, just shrewd.
Neither Linda nor myself gave input on their very tacky little scraps of paper, because the best place for us to lodge our objections is with the relevant Planning Department especially with it being a listed building - what a shame hey?
The fact of the matter is that we have Sainsbury's, Morrisons, M & S and Londis, all within less than 2 miles of Boston Spa and of course Tesco taking over an old pub site in Collingham (less than 2 miles from here).
Mr Neil Hanby and his family have been running Costcutter for donkeys years and in order to survive they has adapted to meet the needs of the village. Tesco Express will (should their application be approved) bring nothing new to the village. The site is unsuitable and the village will be better served by a refurbishment and upgrading of The Crown Hotel, but our information is that the brewery which owns the Crown Hotel will not sell the property because it does not want a rival brewery to take over the Crown, this begs the question that if the owners believe that a rival brewery could run a very successful public house on this site, why has the Crown, in its present condition, not been successful?
From my own personal experience, I found my only two visits to this establishment less than welcoming and I understand that the current landlady is of the opinion that the lack of support from the locals is the cause of the Crown's demise. I can only say that the level of service and atmosphere in the Crown is more likely for the failure of this business and therefore, opening an opportunity for the brewery to lease to Tesco so they are not out of pocket. Surely someone can step in and make a better offer to the brewery it is an ideal building to house a hotel, restaurant and bar, with style, atmosphere and an opportunity for someone to set themselves up for life in a very successful business.
SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN PLEASE - SAY NO TO TESCO and keep supporting our local shops, Costcutter, Londis, Firth's Butchers, Moo the Deli, Broughton's Bakery, Couplands, The Newsagent run by Vanessa, all the places to have a coffee or sandwich, The Cafe, Apress, the Pharmacy and many, many more.
I have a dreadful feeling that if Tesco are successful, they will little by little, force the other shops to close with their cheap prices (and both Linda and I are too poor to buy cheap), ruin their livelihood, cause great unemployment within the village, once achieved, they will then up their prices to meet the affluent perception that Boston Spa holds.
THEY DON'T NEED TO BE HERE
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