“Can I first of all address Amanda's letter, she says that David Pye produced all the posters that were in some shops last year saying " stop Tesco" you should check your facts Amanda, those posters were nothing to do with either Moorland Road Association or David Pye and to say David produced them is a blatent lie. they were in fact produced and distributed by June Player.
I have wached this story develop with interest, as 18 months ago I handed over the Chaimanship of the Association to David, it was at a difficult time with many but not all Traders losing interest in our efforts to promote the Road, you may ask why I stepped down leaving David to get the Association going again, like all things there are always 2 sides to every story, I had health problems and felt after 14 years it was time to hand over the rein's to someone else, David has been an excellent Chairman, even before he took over he put up the Christmas lights and flower boxes virtualy on his own, he and his wife organised Supper concerts to raise money for Moorland Road, the St Georges day flags were put up by David, I could go on, As for the situation we find ourselves in at the moment I know from experience how difficult it is to quote to the Chronicle over the phone without time to consider a measured reply, it is very easy to be misquoted or have something taken out of context ,it's much easier to make personal and downright insulting remarks from the comfort of your room with plenty of time to think about what you are going to say, There is an old saying that if you put your head above the parapit you must be prepared to be shot at, well David knows this as do I, so for goodness sake lets move on,those of you who are wasting time and effort bickering and complaining why not support the very small group of people who make up the committee of the Association who give there time freely to try and promote the Road ,”

“Mr Pye - there seems to be some inconsistency, why were there posters plastered everywhere last year (produced by yourself) to 'STOP TESCO' and 'SAY NO TO TESCO' on the Bath Press site, if in meetings nobody 'even said the word Tescos' ?
From what i have heard there are many traders angry and concerned for the future of their businesses in the street, even if they haven't all voiced it on here. I hope one new store opening doesn't mean the closure of many.
Anyway, do we need 5 Sainsburys in Bath whilst we have 0 Aldi, Lidl and Asda? This seems to be more to do with the 'image' of our city rather than providing residents with choice and value.”

“If people want a non-food retail to take up the lease for the former Woolworths site on Moorland Road, then local residents and businesses should be aware that the Former Woolworths boss Sir Geoff Mulcahy is working with a group planning to create a 200-strong chain of "Woolworths-style" stores.

The group, which currently has no name, is headed by former Woolworths managing director Tony Page. He said he had been working with Sir Geoff for a month.

The group is hoping to buy some of the collapsed retailer's vacant stores.

You can find our more information about this develop on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8099574.stm

or in addition you may want to concern joining the Facebook Group campiagning to bring Woolworths back to our High Streets: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=40893911206”

“".....as all I read is moan moan moan from a load of old whingers......"

Black pots and kettles spring to mind, and even though we have veered slightly from the subject I am sure SAM will be pleased to hear that we have finally uncovered that it is BUBBA who goes out for the milk!!

"Next time you drive past the green park Tavern, or perhaps the entrance to Sainsburys or even Bathwick tyres, think about you being that guy waiting to get out getting more and more frustrated and then maybe you might be a little more sympathetic to others and let them out. "

For the record........I do let people out of junctions, either by flashing them or leaving a big enough gap. When you live in a side road off a main road you are acutely aware of selfish drivers and try not to be like them!
As for re-reading a multitude of previous posts going back goodness knows how long.......... in case you haven't noticed the sun is shining and I am just not bored enough to sit indoors for that long!

And a word of support for David Pye - I have also run a Traders Association with around 40 members, and on the whole it is a thankless task. There will be one or two who are continually supportive but most are happy to sit back and let you do all the work and then reap the benefits of your efforts (such as Christmas Lights, anti-crime intiatives and flower displays). Even when you are busy yourself you try to take on the problems of others and view the street as a whole. There is nothing worse than boarded up and empty shops in a row, as it gives a derelict appearance, so you do your best to keep everyone going and the street thriving, sometimes at the expense of your own business. I know how many hours it takes putting letters together and then delivering them all around. Unless you do it when the shops are shut it takes hours, as everyone wants to talk, and if you want other opinions it has to be done during opening hours. The more chains you have on the street the more difficult it is as you have to deal at Head Office level rather than at street level, which takes more letter writing and calls. All this time could be spent in your own shop, but it boils down to "someone has to do it" and as soon as nobody does, it shows! Then to add insult to injury, when you dare to go public with any concerns relating to the street, you are often accused of being self-interested! Keep up the good work David. At least if nobody carries it on when you leave you know that you made a difference while you were there.”

“Ah Thomas, If you took a little time to re read some of the other posts on other topics, you will see people complaining about the london road traffic, the lower bristol road traffic and how dangerous it is (In fact that was you) the general traffic levels being too high and people suggesting that trucks slow bath down and should be diverted. Secondly, there was a recent topic about sainsburys store at Green Park's shelves being empty, parking to be bad and having to queue for a long time to get served. So in fact there may not be anyone on this particular subject but it has been mentioned many times before. As I said to JM, I am an avid road safety fan who has seen far to much death and destruction through bad driving and even had a post removed by the editor when i left a comment, quite what a responce they were expecting from posting the story in question is beyond me but anyway, you obviously have a beef with me and any comment I make will end up with a comment from you having a little dig talking some rubbish about me staying in more and banking online. I do quite happily use online shopping and banking thanks for mentioning but im hardly likely to order a 4 pinter of semi skinned from Tesco am I, therefore I have to go out and see the nice drivers of Bath forcing their way through with no consideration for other Bathonians, that was my point. Next time you drive past the green park Tavern, or perhaps the entrance to Sainsburys or even Bathwick tyres, think about you being that guy waiting to get out getting more and more frustrated and then maybe you might be a little more sympathetic to others and let them out. That is why I dont travel to Sainsburys and im happy to use OFP Sainsburys for convenience Most people are ignorant and rude and do nothing about the problems then just moan. Im actually considering not coming on here again (Cheers from JM and Thomas) as all I read is moan moan moan from a load of old whingers that as long as everything goes their way and nothing disrupts their little life theyre almost happy.”

“I¿m really heartbroken about this attack on our community. There is no need for vandalism. We don¿t know if Sainsbury¿s are going to sign the lease for sure or when they would open. Now we who live here and the people who shop here are not going to see an empty chain store, but a boarded up shop with broken windows.

Moorland Road is the heart of our community and is a mix of independent and chain stores. The one thing that they all have in common is that they mainly employ local people. The best way to beat the recession is to get involved with all the activities of the Moorland Road Association. Shopping as locally as we can will help Oldfield Park and the South of Bath beat the recession.

Please look up http://moorlandroad.ning.com/”

“If shops like Mcolls are worried about people shopping in Sainsburys then perhaps they should reduce there prices , i ask you £2.50 for 4 pints of milk at aleast Dick Turpin wore a mask when he robbed people.Most of the staff don't look like they want to be there ,there is no customer service with a smile thats for sure.If some of the traders are not happy with the work that David is doing perhaps they would like to take over , any offers no i did not think so.Perhaps people would of liked to of seen another charity shop or fast food outlet. At the end of the day if you don't like it don't shop in it.”

“A response from David Pye Chair MRA
I am sickened by what has happened to Woolworths overnight. I hope that this is not the way people are responding to a Sainsburys store as this is not the way to go about it.
To go back to the article. After months of rumours and tight lipped men in suits coming and going, I was contacted by the Chronicle to say that a Press Release from Sainsburys is expected soon, regarding the Woolworths site. This was the first indication I had had as to who was taking it over. I was then asked many questions, some of the answers have been printed in part.
My first reaction was to feel sorry for the Co-op, Mccolls etc. who I considered would be most affected. However we don'y know the type of merchandise Sainsburys will be selling as they are branching out into many lines including clothes, which is one area that I felt would be welcomed by many people.
Apart from fashion there are not many retailers in MR who would not be affected by somebody taking on a shop of that size, and in this present climate there are not too many takers at the moment. A shop like Woolworths staying empty for a long period would, I feel, not help trade in MR. in the long term.
Planning permission for retail is on this site already and so there is nothing we can do to stop it. However if it does turn out to be a food shop, then a licence would have to be had for Wines etc.
It now means that traders will have to work a little bit harder providing customers with the service that they deserve and can no longer be complacent. Perhaps this will be a wake up call for all of us who have relied on the popularity of MR. for too long.
How will this affect the traders already in place? Well once again depending on what Sainsburys plan to sell, knowing customers as I do, I believe that they will more or less stay loyal especially to those independents that give that little extra personal touch, and the ones that come to mind straight away is Banables and Francis DIY only to name a couple.
Parking has also been mentioned. Well for many years now I have been sending letters round requesting that traders must appriciate how much trade they loose by staff parking in MR for very long periods of time. The worst offender is no longer in business but there are others who are now in the moaners brigade still doing it.
With regards to Tescos and Lidls, I and another trader had a long meeting with the MD of St. James Investments who have acquired the Bath Press site and during that time he did not even say the word Tescos. He wanted to know what we felt should go there and any fears that we might have etc. but it would appear that it has been taken on for development well into the future along with many other ideas.
The demonstration some while ago was not organised by the MRA and any traders there were as individuals. I did not attend as I felt it was very premature.
Regarding Lldls, they did a very comprehensive consultation in MR with every shop having their say. As far as I am aware not one shop objected to them going on the Lower Bristol Road and I believe that they now have permission for this site to proceed.

I would like to now answer the personal comments that have been written about me and my attitude.
I would like to start by just outlining a few facts.
Every four to six weeks, I send out over 50 letters inviting businesses and traders in Oldfield Park to the MRA meetings to express any views or concerns that they may have. This is an invite to everybody and anybody, Management or staff.
At best we have reps from a church, hairdressers,charity shop and my wife and I. On the odd occasion we might see one or two extras.
At the AGM I was voted in by the above as nobody else was interested, and we just managed to get enough for a legal committee to keep the association going. In the last two years it has been on the brink of folding many times.
It has now been said that I should be replaced, Well at the mom”

“If this is anything like the Sainsburys Local in Kingsmead Square there will be a limited range of food and it will be more expensive than Sainsburys supermarket.

Well done to the people who let this go ahead.

The tourist information office in the city centre should start publishing new leaflets and brochures:

"Bath, World heritage Site - sponsored by Tesco Express and Sainsburys Local" :(”

“having re-read some of the comments on here I am very disapointed in some of the direct and to be honest nasty comments. One that shocked me came from a person called craig who aledges to work for McCalls. do you believe that Mr Pye had any influence in the arrival of Sainsbury's ?. and as for the "I'm all right jack" comment, you should hang your head in shame.
I have personaly seen Mr Pye and his staff hanging christmas decorations in moorland road with help from some of the local traders and I have no doubt that you have never been amongst them. ask yourself what support you have ever shown and balance that against your right to comments on what you believe to be his actions or inactions.”