Gloomy prediction as store battles spread
Reporter: by KEN BENNETT
Date published: 04 June 2009
A leading councillor has predicted shops in Saddleworth villages would struggle to survive when a new Tesco store is built.
Councillor Richard Knowles made the forecast after shopkeepers near Tesco’s new superstore in Oldham — the largest in the North West — said trade had slumped by 20 per cent since the store opened.
And now leading Saddleworth luminaries are expressing concerns about the impact on shopping in villages when Tesco builds at Knoll Mill, Greenfield.
Councillor Knowles, who lives in Greenfield, said: “Existing food shops in Greenfield and Uppermill will struggle to survive, adding: “Supermarkets don’t increase the number of full-time equivalent retail jobs. In most cases, they put existing, locally-owned food shops out of business and replace them with mainly part-time staff at low wages. Let’s hope for Saddleworth’s sake more local food shops survive.”
Councillor Knowles, a transport expert and professor of transport geography at Salford University, added: “I predict Greenfield will face the same traffic chaos as Huddersfield Road.
“But the developers and council highways officers assured the public inquiry inspector there wouldn’t be a problem.
“The developers escaped any requirement to pay for road improvements — and hard-pressed council taxpayers will have to pay to clear up the mess.”
Parish councillor Ken Hulme argued that large stores such as Tesco may create new jobs but these were cancelled out by the job losses in the small community shops in the catchments area of the store.
“This isn’t regeneration for our villages and it doesn’t contribute anything to maintaining and protecting the character of Saddleworth,” he said. “Why does Tesco need one in Greenfield when it has built the largest store in the North-West just a couple of miles up the road?”
Councillor John McCann said: “This is proof local Lib-Dem councillors and campaigners were correct in their belief a large Tesco store destroys local businesses, reduces choice and often has a negative impact on the environment via packaging, increased traffic and now 24-hour lighting.”
Greenfield and Grasscroft Community Association’s chairman David McNeeney said: “We must accept that a store will happen and we will endeavour to ensure any impact on the local community is as positive as the situation permits.
“The association will continue to promote and support local businesses as a vital link in employment and choice for the future of our community.”
Parish councillor Royce Franklin, chairman of the parish council’s traffic and transport sub-committee, said: “Unfortunately, this is a foretaste of what is likely to happen in Greenfield when the Tesco store opens.
“We need limited parking restrictions on the main car parks in Uppermill before the Greenfield store opens.
“Shoppers in Uppermill from outside villages need somewhere to park or they will go to Tesco initially for convenience but later through habit.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “The retail sector is very competitive but there are plenty of examples where independent shops can exist successfully side by side with larger retailers.
“It’s our commitment to good service, convenience, quality, availability and prices mean people choose us time and again — but we know that customers will vote with their feet and go elsewhere if we are unable to continue to offer these things.”
