“A spokesman said: "We regularly listen to feedback from our customers at Green Park and they tell us that the fantastic range of fresh produce at great prices combined with the excellent customer service is a real benefit for them. We have an unrivalled range of food and drink and as we stock everything from Basics to Taste the Difference, we really do have something for everyone."

I almost spat out my coffee when I read this absolute bilge from sainsburys. The fresh food section is appalling - they never have enough in and so it's frequently empty. If they do get around to restock it during the day, then the narrow isles make navigation with a trolley around the piled up boxes a nightmare.

The rest of the store isn¿t much better¿.. they have a very limited range compared to other stores and they are frequently out of products that they do carry. For the main premium supermarket in a city the size of Bath, it¿s laughable. Roll on Tesco¿s ¿ after many years of trying, let¿s hope the obviously biased planners have finally been outmanoeuvred.”

“Ah well Dan it seems we agree on most things. Having seen Sainsbury's in bulldozer mode - I don't doubt the Tesco development will be the same. Sainsbury's are building in Odd Down which is where I live. The original plan involved a row of small shops, a sports hall and a care home. In the final approved plan the sports hall disappeared (more room for a bigger Sainsbury's store) the row of shops disappeared (more room for a bigger Sainsbury's store) - we wait to see whether the care home will ever be built. It was an appalling decision by BANES to build over a school playing field - although to be fair to some of our councillors it was a close decision.
Now I wonder what will happen to the Tesco's plans for "a blend of offices, retail, housing, community space and creative work units" . Tesco's didn¿t get to be twice the size of Sainsbury's by accident.
However, I'm still left with the opinion that the south / west side of Bath needs more capacity - but that's not based on whether people are starving rather than to cut down travel to the centre of Bath or completely outside of Bath - and I'm sure all supermarkets sell the same doughnuts. If Bath is to have more supermarkets my solution would be to build them near P&Rs.
After the Sainsbury's fiasco, I'm a little of the opinion the more the merrier so they all run at a loss, but I'm not sure that counts as constructive. Good local traders will always be able to find niche markets”

“nb - Let's start with what we agree on: Your words "This is the wrong scheme in the wrong place" sums it up very well.

Like you my concerns are chiefly the effects it will have not only on "that part of the Lower Bristol Road" but the large traffic displacements that will occur as a result and throughout the rest of the city, when the B&NES Council leadership have (mainly for ulterior motives) already classed Bath as "gridlocked". Therefore, approval of the development, or any other for any major retail store designed to attract significant amounts of traffic, would therefore be complete hypocrisy.

In answering the question "why should Tesco not build here and what are your alternatives" I'll first ignore its inference that in being against the plan means I should automatically have a viable and well-researched alternative to hand. Lack of an alternative won't make the proposal 'less wrong'. I'm not a developer or city planner. I'm not a farmer supplying produce to Tesco either, but I do recognise the stench of BS and a "wrong scheme in the wrong place" when I see one.

However, what about this off the top of my head?... Move Bath City and Bath Rugby to a new purpose-built shared stadium at Western Riverside and sell Twerton Park to any supermarket developer who wants it. But please don't be misled by this idea into thinking that because there's an alternative I think that it or any others should be exploited, just because they're there. Why? Because my resistance to the plan goes further still...

There's a fundamental dishonesty in the contention that Tesco will bring 'much needed' competition to Bath's retail landscape when all major outlets sell roughly the same products - e.g. there isn't any great difference between a Sainsbury and a Tesco donut. Plus, the persistent encouragement of a perceived customer choice (see previous comment) is also characterised as "an illusion of alternatives" used by both manufacturers and retailers to sell as much stock for as much profit as can be realised. It has nothing to do with real choice.

Taking this one step further, the notion that "there is insufficient capacity in Bath for its population" is essentially the same thing. If it wasn't an illusion there would already be clear evidence of the population growing physically hungry, instead of simply being hungry to aspire to what they are being persuaded they don't already have.

Other views have confirmed this to be true, bemoaning a lack of choice at the same time as listing Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Co-op and other Tesco stores - all within the boundaries of our small city or a short and easy car journey away. Or to put it another way, if the Co-op hasn't got what you're looking for, get back in your car and find somewhere that does - and bear in mind there's no guarantee that your search will end at any branch of Tesco.

The word "stooges" was used to describe contributors posting trite messages and their failures to address the nature of some very serious proposals, writing inane things which could just have easily have been written by Tesco employees to deliberately mask and avoid possible answers to the question: "Where are the truly objective considerations and assessments of the developments major commercial, environmental, traffic congestion and social impacts?"

The reference to Bath as an "asylum" run by incompetents was clear enough. But for further clarity, I think it's worth reading one of the strongest letters of support for the scheme on the planning web site. It contains the following phrases:

"it is hoped will also act as the catalyst for the long awaited redevelopment of Western Riverside" / "I would hope this will see the resurgence of a unique part of city" / I have faith... that the Local Highway Authority will ensure that there is a robust and comprehensive travel plan in place to encourage modal shift from the car."

So the entire worth and intrin”

“Dan, I keep reading your comments and wonder why you bother. Your main line seems to be that everybody that comments here is a complete idiot ¿ you use the word ¿stooges¿ and ¿asylum¿.

You have yet to put forward a reasoned argument as to why Tesco should not build in Bath, instead having a pop at the competition or ¿Stooges¿ ¿ so in my book that makes you no better than the Honey Monster. To be fair you have asked where the reasoned arguments are ¿ but you appear to not wish to share your objections with us ¿ so come on Dan why should Tesco not build here and what are your alternatives?

Whether you like it or not the Honey Monster has come out with an observation that is supported here ¿ the current supermarkets are overtrading and Sainsbury¿s (in particular) take Bath for granted.

The general opinions seem to be that Sainsbury¿s need to ¿raise their game¿ and the perception is that competition in the form of Tesco will do that

Just for the record I am not a supporter of Tescopoly, and think this is the wrong scheme in the wrong place ¿ my concerns start with traffic on that part of the Lower Bristol Road - but that doesn¿t alter the fact that there is insufficient capacity in Bath for its population and a Tesco or even an array of reasonably priced small traders may alleviate that.”

“Sainsburys has had it's day, i don't think there has been a time when i've got everything on my list, forever running out of stock, a 10 min shop takes an hour because i'm forever asking staff to check the system, computer says it's in, but they can't find it. Customer service is a big zero, the shelf stackers attitude is this, " i'm stacking the shelf and i'm not going to move for you" Once a month i manage to get into Tesco at Bedminster on the way home from work i used to do the same at Tesco in Trowbridge, and i have always managed to get what i want and also a variety of items i require, customer service is always good. Plus 24 hr opening. I can't wait!!”