Tesco Refuse £1K Donation Request

[Andy Millne]

Tesco were allegedly initially approached and asked to contribute £1k towards the events that are taking place in the market place to which they agreed but have since u-turned on. Interestingly, Asda in Ashington agreed to a £1.5k request for similar events taking place there. Is this the level of community support we are to expect from Tesco?

[Blank]

Tesco were allegedly initially approached and asked to contribute £1k towards the events that are taking place in the market place to which they agreed but have since u-turned on. Interestingly, Asda in Ashington agreed to a £1.5k request for similar events taking place there. Is this the level of community support we are to expect from Tesco?

What events were they asked to contribute to and who asked them to contribute?

Because if it's the council asking for money, I think that they get enough money from us as it is - and if they spent less on themselves / other towns, then there might be more to spend on events in Bedlington.

Having said that though, I know Tesco already support various charities and they do a great job of supporting them... but I also think they should try to give something back to the local community too.

[threegee]

I think the point here is that Joe and Jane Bedlington stumped up £2M to tart up the area in front of their store, and so make it a more attractive place to stop/shop, and then (allegedly) they wouldn't stump up a measly grand toward the launch - which they must have got some direct benefit from too.

Some figures about how much such stores contribute or leech from local economies would make interesting reading. I wonder if the people making planning decisions have access to these sorts of figures?

[Malcolm Robinson]

I think it shows the down side of what is going to be done there with some people all for the Tesco development and others against the idea. Hard to see why any competent manager couldn't make that figure back with some careful in store promotions, seasonal and impulse, especially as the most used walkway from a car park will be right through his store!

It should be a flagship development for the town and it should be used to springboard commercial development for the rest of the town or we run the risk of becoming Tescoville. At the moment I am afraid my money is on the latter rather than the former!

[mercuryg]

It should be a flagship development for the town and it should be used to springboard commercial development for the rest of the town or we run the risk of becoming Tescoville. At the moment I am afraid my money is on the latter rather than the former!

I think it's already happened, Malcolm.

A few years back I got into a discussion about the Tesco store and was shot down in flames as I seemed alone in proposing that it was, in fact, the worst thing that could happen to the town. Bedlington has no through traffic, and tesco in the market place will never have enough 'draw' to justify its existence in teh long run. tesco opens and closes stores at will - it can afford to - and I remain convinced that the proposed development of the adjacent building will never happen, and that the store itself has a short life ahead of it.

people were adamant that I 'didn't understand women' (something I found quite insulting to women) as they would 'flock' to this new store for the sheer excitement of shopping somewhere new. Replying that this was, in absolutel essence, utter b*llocks I was laughed at and told I would be proved wrong. I haven't been proved wrong - where is the megastore selling white goods and so on? Who the hell is going to go out of their way to come to bedlington to buy a fridge freezer?

The smaller shops have already been driven away, the presence of tesco can't even justify the presence of one of the countries major banks - wake up bedlington, tesco will be gone by 2012.

[Malcolm Robinson]

I don't think it is quite that black and white Merc. I understand what you are saying and in a lot of ways agree but I still think there are options. If this whole development goes ahead, and its going to be early next year when we finally find out, I think it will inevitable adversely effect a lot of businesses in the town not to mention anyone thinking of opening a retail shop one here. The simple fact that as a large national Tesco monitors it's through sale per square footage closely and therefore will cheery pick only those goods which sell well and they can make a profit on. Course the rest of the independents do much the same thing but cannot hope to compete with either the costings or attraction a unit like a large Tesco will have.

On the plus side if it does become a superstore people will be able to buy things which until then haven't been available in the town. That has got to be good news and might address the question of the large numbers of potentially local shoppers who never use Front Street. An increase of footfall should stimulate interest by other shops and offices bidding to exploit that potential, as long as the whole thing is managed properly.

I think Jim's posting illustrates the way things could develop if left to drift as they always have done here. Without a clear and ambitious programme for future commercial development of the town as a whole we will certainly run the risk of seeing the piecemeal and ad hoc 'improvements' we have been used to for the last 30 years continue and even that could be drawing to a close given current market and budgetary tends.

[Monsta®]

it wasn't mandatory so what they didn't donate 1 grand haven't they given us enough by simply coming to bedlington? plus there giving us a bigger store and so on! so you cannit grumble!