Tesco vows to support Moorland Road shops

“Well, looks like I have got on at long last.I know I do have a vested interest in Moorland Road as we trade there,but we also had the same interest when we had a shop in Brislington and Sainsburys were opening a store there! We were promised some new signage which turned out to be a sign fairly high up on a wall and didn't stand out at all.Sainsburys also provided the poshest new pavements that money could buy unfortunately once they opened no one walked on them.These people are very clever and can make promises which they can keep but it feels too much like blackmail to me.My biggest worry is how the heck they are going to fit this monstosity into thge space available and how it is going to change the lives of the local residents many of whom have probably lived there for most of their lives!It is going to be like fitting a square peg in a round whole,and I promise you one thing it will cause chaos!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Wish I knew where my comments keep going??????”

“Just back from the Co-op in Shaftesbury Road carpark full store empty
says it all really. this shop is not used enough, moorland rd seemed to be busy well full of cars. people just using the scala as a free carpark”

“Bath Press - Traffic Signal Team comments:

"Overall there are 2 areas of objection to the proposal; one which is effectively the safety of the
junction design and the other the capacity of the junction.

"The capacity issue; this predominantly affects the junction at busier peak times whereas the
safety concerns – geometric design/staging affects the junction at all hours so an impact would
occur on all users in this location. As previously stated the modelling continues to demonstrate a junction which would be constructed which simply would be unable to cope with demand placed upon it showing results far in excess of those recommended by the modelling software.

"The modelling again demonstrates a worsening of the junction performance here to that
which could be implemented by the Council without the development. Therefore nil
detriment is not achieved irrespective of the fact that the junction as designed simply would
not be able to cope with traffic demand placed upon it.

"Therefore we continue to object to this proposal on the grounds stated."

http://tinyurl.com/7sn7qdq”

“@ Dave_Weston
We happen to live in the Moorland Road area and use the Co-op for our grocery shopping. Shutting it down would rip out the heart of the Oldfield Park community. If you're after a sports centre, then why not just build one on the Bath Press site?”

“The Tesco store will remove 19% of the district centre's
entire turnover, which will be two-thirds of the overall 29% cumulative
impact on Moorland Road. The Co-op foodstore on Moorland Road is likely to
receive the majority of the impact associated with the Tesco scheme and
could lose between 40%-50% of its turnover. GVA considers that the scale of
this impact could lead to the closure of this store which, given its anchor
role, would have a significant adverse impact upon the district centre.
Indeed, even if the Co-op were to remain open, the scale of lost trips to the
centre would have a significant effect upon footfall and vitality in the
centre. The Tesco proposal is unlikely to encourage significant linked trips
with either the city centre or Moorland Road district centre and therefore
there are unlikely to be any positive impacts associated with the Tesco
scheme which could mitigate some or all of the financial impact."

http://tinyurl.com/7hzd4rc”

“I think Moorland Road shopkeepers should be worried. It took three changes of traffic lights recently to turn onto Windsor Bridge on the Lower Bristol Road and that was during half term, it will be utter chaos along that road.
http://tinyurl.com/89hqlnq
When a Tesco express with petrol station opened in Whitchurch, Bristol a garage and filling station opposite closed within weeks.”

“There's a big tesco extra in an area of east london I know that people from bath may describe as deprived. It started off as a modest sized store and subsequently expanded to occupy half the shopping centre where it was located. They built an an extension.

This tescos naturally dominates everything. As far as I know, no other small businesses have ceased. There are only a handful of grocery shops in the area. One of the largest, also opens 24 hours to match tescos. They may not be as cheap as the supermarket, but they are in no way as outrageously priced as what used to be my local village shop in south glos.

An overground station is opposite the shopping centre. Bus and tube stations are at one end of its car park. Buses use a bus lane through tesco's car park to the entrance of the shopping centre, making it easier for people to arrive and depart. Tesco sometimes have staff by these bus stops to help people.

Whether this is a result of robust planning or innovative thinking, I'm not sure. Clearly, it works for the local community. During last summer's riots, this area didn't erupt. About 3km away is a large asda, adjacent to a retail park that has PC world, B & Q et al. Traffic can be heavy on saturdays, but bus lanes seem to work well for the 12 or so services that serve the area.”

“Five contestants still remain in Moorland Road's annual arm folding contest!”

“Let's just see what they can offer the businesses in Moorland Road. In such austere times it's a sad fact that some will inevitably go under regardless of Tesco's, perhaps drawing more people to that end of Bath via Tesco's could be a way to halt this.

I still can't see a major investor, apart from Supermarkets with enough money to throw in to regenerate the surrounding area to include housing, workshops and offices. We can't resist all behemoths and change, particularly when we're in a position to make them put some good back in and work for us in return.”