Some years ago, following the lead of other residents in our road, I joined in a protest about a new block of flats being built in our road. It also evoked an outcry at a local area committee, demands for information about who knew what and when, claims about depressing house prices, traffic etc. The council dutifully threw out the planning proposal and the developers subsequently won their appeal. I look at what was built and wonder why I campaigned against it - it doesn't look bad and has negligible impact on me or the local environment. I was stupid to jump on the bandwagon of opposing change for the sake of opposing change.
The same appears to be happening here. I note with some concern that some of the most vociferous opponents of a supermarket scheme are the same people who vigorously condemned the work on Dan Bank. Well, look at that now: it is a magnificent piece of civil engineering, looks tidy, is a lot safer and, with a bit of care of the trees, will be many times better than before.
People make a lot about CAMSFC's governors not living in Marple. Well, looking at the photographs of the march, quite a lot of the participants don't live anywhere close to Hibbert Lane either and aren't going to be remotely affected by this scheme.
Wow Hollins, you seem to have missed the point.
Just because you protested about a set of flats which turned out ok, or saw a protest about Dan Bank widening which turned out ok certainly doesn't mean all subsequent developments are just "peachy".
And of course many of the thousand outraged protestors this weekend don't live close to Hibbert Lane.
Many are folk who shop in Marple and like the shopping experience there, or who have businesses in Marple and don't want to be driven out by yet another Tesco/ASDA, or who live near Buxton Lane and don't want to see a massive development on their doorstep.
A few of them might even think that the behemoths that are Tesco/Asda aren't wanted in every town across this land, that towns don't need to be clones of each other, with each town selling the exact same items.
Hey, some of the protestors might just be there because they think that after making
£6,000 profit every minute of every day, Tesco should pause their voracious appetite for new stores, and show some
social responsiblity.
Likewise, if you drive out of Marple to do a "big supermarket shop" you are taking both your traffic fumes and your spending power out of Marple, not helping either the environment or the local traders.
Crikey Hollins, you're on a lost cause re environment issues.
Huge number of people do their "big supermarket shop" on their way back from work, convenient that way and also keeps the costly petrol bill down.
Environmental impact of a merely building a new Tesco/ASDA is
massive : why else would Friends Of The Earth (whose Stockport branch
is supporting Marple In Action efforts) describe Tesco stores as
"energy-intensive eyesores". Or for
Sheffield Hallam University conclude "large superstores are the most energy inefficient buildings in the sector" or "It would take more than 60 corner shops and greengrocers to match the carbon dioxide emissions from one average sized superstore.".
If you demand that the college don't think just about money, then don't raise the issue of your house prices. If you complain about living in line of sight of a supermarket then just stand on the opposite side of Hibbert Lane and look at the college - it isn't the prettiest of buildings.
I am somewhat neutral about the local small shops - none of them are open when I come home from work and I am forced to spend money in the co-op ... or the co-op (yes, time that monopoly ended). On the other hand my children will shortly be going to the college every day, so I, like the governors and principal of CAMSFC, am concerned about their education and I really don't care whether the governors and principal live in Marple or not. Most of the wage-earners in Marple don't actually work in Marple - they commute outside.
Perhaps it is time for a new forum topic to start suggesting realistic alternative proposals for how Marple Sixth-Form College - and yes, it is MARPLE'S sixth form college - can raise the money they need for new build. I may (observing the poll) be in a minority in this forum who would like a new supermarket, but I don't think I am the only person in Marple in that position.
It's quite tricky for the man-in-the-street to review the college's financials (the last 3 years of which are
published in spreadsheets here : colleges have to publish such data by law) and come up with suggestions, exacerbated by the vacuum of further information from the college.
However, I understand our MP Andrew Stunell's "Get The College To Think Again" campaign will involve opening a dialogue with the college on this matter.
Let's do everything we can to avoid the college evacuating the Hibbert Lane campus, to avoid a huge supermarket muscling in, and to between us come up with a solution that suits the
community and the
students.
