Parish councillors reject Sainsbury’s store for town (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Parish councillors reject Sainsbury’s store for town
11:17am Friday 20th August 2010 in News
Parish councillors reject Sainsbury’s store for town
SUPERMARKET bosses have been dealt a new blow after parish councillors rejected plans for a controversial new store in Bishop’s Waltham last Thursday.
There was standing room only as around 450 residents packed the public meeting in the Jubilee Hall to discuss whether a Sainsbury’s store should be built on the Abbey Mill site.
A heated, hour-long public debate saw both supporters and campaigners air their views as the public applauded, booed and occasionally heckled the speakers.
A policeman was on standby during the meeting which ended when Bishop’s Waltham Parish Council decided on an overall objection to the plans.
The council’s decision, which is not binding, will be passed to planning chiefs at Winchester City Council who are currently considering the planning application and will have the ultimate say.
During the meeting councillors said 1,015 letters had been received by planning chiefs opposing the plans, compared to 21 supporting the supermarket giant’s bid.
Peter Atkinson, a local fishmonger, said: “Sainsbury’s is not right for Bishop’s Waltham because it will adversely affect the diversity of this town.”
Meon Valley MP George Hollingbery, who was away on holiday, made his views known through his parliamentary reserarcher, and said the town would “die a slow and painful death” if Sainsbury’s was to open.
A large number of people had also turned out to support the store’s application.
One of them said: “It’s nice to see so many people against it.
“The local shops will have nothing to worry about as they have the support here.”
Another, Gordon Campbell, said: “There is not anybody that supports local shops more than me, but I believe Sainsbury’s will be good for the town.”
Margaret Forest added that “shops in Bishop’s Waltham have had it too good for too long”.
One resident reduced the crowd to laughter after demanding Sainsbury’s build the new doctors surgery and then “get out of the way”.
Bishop’s Waltham surgery manager Andy Moulam said the current surgery has a patient-todoctor ratio above the national average, and currently has nowhere to put the extra GPs that it needs.
He said: “It’s for those reasons the practice approached Sainsbury’s to see if they could do something to help.”
As reported in the Hampshire Chronicle, more than 100 members of the Bishop’s Waltham Action group — which opposes the opening of the store — handed in a 4,500 signature petition to city council bosses on July 31.
But another action group, Bishop’s Waltham Another View, claims the store will bring more employment and offer residents a cheaper alternative to expensive High Street shops.
Objections to the planning application ended last Thursday.
Planning chiefs will now have to decide whether to give the green light for the 35,000 sq ft store, which will bring 350 jobs.
Mike Hopgood, 60, of Botley Road, Bishop’s Waltham, said: “Shops in Bishop’s Waltham have been on the decline since the car was invented, so residents could get away from them.
“Their rents are so much that their goods are sky high.”
Gill Pittman, of Bishop’s Waltham, said: “I’m against Sainsbury’s.
“My concern is that it’s in the wrong position because of the historic nature of the surrounding area.
“The Palace Ruins and the South Pond are all ancient historic sites, and the quietness of the area will be compromised.”
Barry Jerome, 64, of Rarebridge Lane, president of the Bishop’s Waltham Parish Fishing Club, said: “With the proposals a large amount of parking will disappear around the pond which is bad for our club.
“There will also be five disabled bays for disabled anglers lost.”
Dizzie Bruce, 44, of Eastways, Bishop’s Waltham, said: “We live in a small village. We’ve already got a Sainsbury’s in Fareham and a larger one in Hedge End.
Both are in a small radius of here.
“It’s completely unnecessary.
We’ve got all the local shops we need which will be seriously undermined by Sainsbury’s.”
What do you think? Leave your comments below.
Comments(2)
pmfwatson
says...
8:07pm Sat 21 Aug 10
The real facts and the real incentive actually is to the town itself.
If only more people in the "Anti Progress brigade" could see
BW currently has a 25 year old doctors surgery 50% over its original designed capacity for patients, NHS isn't going to pay for a new one, are the shop keepers going to pay for one?
This is why the BW doctors actually approached Sainsbury's.(Fact)
I'm all for a town with medieval heritage, but surely it would be better as someone has already stated, to do without a "Medieval Surgery"
Can the high street shops create 300-350 new jobs in the town?
Another fact- English Heritage does not, and will not object to the supermarket.(That's already in writing already)
Would another 70 home with an average of 1.5 cars per house help peak time traffic in the town?
Or,
Another eye sore industrial estate next to the palace ruins with many more than 12 lorries each day going in and out of town clogging up roads and polluting the planet?
Worst of all do nothing and put it in the "too hard basket" for another few years, it's an eye sore waste land now, let's do something with it!
How about the people who currently drive from the town and surrounding area will save around 3 million miles driving each year and spend more in the local shops?
The elderly and others on fixed incomes, who can't afford to run a car may actually have a better choice, this would be a benefit for all wouldn't it?
I think the smart people in the town and surrounding villages in the area will soon work this out.
Why not have a look at and join: Bishops Waltham - Another View (BWAV) and look at some positive facts and say "YES TO SAINSBURY'S" 106 new members in 3 weeks is saying something isn’t it!
Hopefully Winchester City Council will see the positives and sanity will prevail because, Bishops Waltham needs this now!
chronreader says...
12:02pm Fri 20 Aug 10