So what alternatives are there out there in respect of re -developing urban spaces? CABE is the government's advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. The article linked to [below] discusses a range of projects [large and small] in the UK where old, run-down or redundant spaces have been given new purpose, creating new and vibrant civic spaces with a range of uses.
More can be found [here].
Great, know of any free land that'd be available for this type of project, where would funding come from?
ReplyDeleteGet real ..... there are shops that have been empty on Teme Street for years.
ReplyDeleteWatch Mary Queen of Shops if you want a know how small shop owners can evolve when a super market moves into a small town. Up your offering, up your service levels.
Should we shut down Amazon because Books Books Books might go out of business?
Having a Tescos is a good thing .... the only question I have is why didn't they build a petrol station too...
The old Cattle Market could feasibly be used in a number of ways - possibly blended with small retail shop[s], market, taxi rank etc. There's various pots of European funding that others [like the Isle of Wight guys - see earlier blog] used still open to bids and which haven't been subject to the cuts that the national re-development funds are now facing.
ReplyDeleteRe Amazon and the local bookshop.. It's a very different comparison between a global [primarily] online retailer with no actual high street presence and a small local highstreet bookshop against a medium-sized corporate supermarket down the road from a small bookshop [that will also retail books as they all do]. The two [Tesco and Amazon] trade in very different ways - Amazon primarily online and Tesco primarily highstreet.
At the end of the day if a Tesco is let in it will trade in a range of goods that will undercut many highstreet shops in Tenbury. That's a given. Some shops may be able to refine their business and others will just slowly sink as they find they can't discount like the big supermarket. It's appropriate that you note the empty shops on the high street as there'd be many more in the short to medium term if Tesco got their way.
Tesco or a run down & empty building with a horrendously potholed 'yard'? Difficult decision..
ReplyDeleteIt's a mess - I don't think anyone would disagree there.. It's the usage of the space for generic 'retail' that's still up for public discussion. The land is privately-owned and the owner wants a return on his outlay - we understand that. What many don't understand is why it has to be a [by Tenbury standards] large supermarket. My point above suggests that there may yet be a 'blended' set of options for that site that could better benefit the local community. Plonking a Tesco [or any other large corporate] supermarket there will just 'hoover' money out of Tenbury. There are many precedents with supermarkets being built in or around small market towns to show how this hemorrhaging of money and slow strangling of the highstreet are the most likely outcomes.. Invite Tesco in if that's your preference for the town..
ReplyDeleteim sorry but i disagree with your coment on that tescos will hoover money out of tenbury.It wont make any difference as a large number of the tenbury community already go out of tenbury to do their shopping anyway and then while they are out in another town if there is anything else they want they go to other shops to get it.If there was a large super market in tenbury that would save people travelling out of town and the other things that they need would be purchased in other shops in the town
ReplyDeleteTesco would sell eveything anyway ,thats why people wont go up the street as there is no need .What we want in Tenbury is a decent clothes shop like Matalan or a small Primark .
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