Tesco / ASDA !!!

[marpleexile]

One very important question was  raised at  tonights Area Committee meeting by a member of the public, which has really got me thinking.   I wanted to remind people of the above letter from Paul Lawrence,  read carefully about the Localism Bill.   Oh I do hope the chap who asked the question  reads this web sight if he does he will be very concerned and rightly so given it's contents.

For those of us who didn't attend the meeting, could you expand a little on what you mean. In particular, what was the question asked?

[Miss Marple]

One very important question was  raised at  tonights Area Committee meeting by a member of the public, which has really got me thinking.   I wanted to remind people of the above letter from Paul Lawrence,  read carefully about the Localism Bill.   Oh I do hope the chap who asked the question  reads this web sight if he does he will be very concerned and rightly so given it's contents.

[Miss Marple]

Latest FOI Response:
Link http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/80241/response/202061/attach/3/S45C%20211081518130.pdf

Email from Paul Lawrence of SMBC to Christina (presumably Christina Cassidy, Principal of CAMSFC).

Here's a pic of the letter, for anyone without a PDF viewer.  Click on it for a larger view.

[Duke Fame]

This thread seems to be drifting into la-la-land! AFAIK there is no proposal to build a supermarket on Chadwick Street, or on the McKay's site or M and Co or whatever it's called this week. I suggest we go back to discussing what IS being proposed.

Duke, are all new buildings 'lefty mumbo jumbo'? Or just college buildings?

No need for that Dave, you've just misunderstand me.

You rightly say (in more coherent times) that should the college sell to a supermarket, the purchaser will need to apply for plannig. Until then, no amount of hysteria will change anything.

I am anticipating the arguments a developer will put forward and points made elsewhere on this forum. The obvious ones are:

The shops in Marple do not meet the shopping demands of the people of Marple. This is clear as the majority advise they shop elsewhere for their 'big' shop.

The co-op has a monopoly in the supermarket stakes in Marple and shoppers in Marple suffer.


To counter this argument the obvious solution would be for another supermarket to enter teh local market and the co-op holds the cards to make this possible.

As for mumbo jumbo, I think your argument that the college's buildings are inefficient is a red-herring, I can't see the justification for selling the site on this basis. As I say, I am prepared to be convinced otherwise.

[chicken lady]

This thread seems to be drifting into la-la-land! AFAIK there is no proposal to build a supermarket on Chadwick Street, or on the McKay's site or M and Co or whatever it's called this week. I suggest we go back to discussing what IS being proposed.

hear hear!

[Duke Fame]

Which is all very interesting but completely beside the point, because these locations, however suitable, wouldn't raise a penny for the college!

True Dave but that is the college's problem & not of my concern.

I'm sure the college can become more efficient and create more income streams with a bit of thought, selling the land is an easy fix, using their assets more productively is more skilful. If the current guy doesn't have the financial background to pull it, there are plenty who can.

And the college would probably say what you want is not their concern.

But it is because I am a local resident whom would be able to object to planning applications.

The college's lust for £12m is not my concern

[Howard]

I think the point that was made in Paul Lawrence's email was that IF more retail development was done in Marple then it would be on Chadwick St as that is already zoned for retail. He was telling the college that it although it was a "less commercially attractive [site than Hibbert Lane]" (presumably to a developer) the council believed it was "deliverable" (presumably a purchaser/developer would be able to work with the council to develop it).

So, because Chadwick St is in the right place and that it is next in line for development, he was telling the college that Hibbert Lane's status as a development opportunity is significantly undermined.

This doesn't help the college in selling off Hibbert lane for the £12m-£13m they say they need, but it still means that there could be another supermarket in Marple, just not on Hibbert Lane.

[Dave]

This thread seems to be drifting into la-la-land! AFAIK there is no proposal to build a supermarket on Chadwick Street, or on the McKay's site or M and Co or whatever it's called this week. I suggest we go back to discussing what IS being proposed.

Duke, are all new buildings 'lefty mumbo jumbo'? Or just college buildings?

[JMC]

Building another supermarket in the precient would still kill local shops (especially the Co-op) as the smaller independant shops cannot compete with the low prices due to the sheer buying power of the big companies. It could also increase traffic and there is the parking problem. Residents on Chadwick street would probably not want a multi-story for a view. The car park also is chock a block on theatre nights so if the car park went to make way for a building it would be chaos around the roads round there.

Suggesting shops move or a better use for the site isn't really going to do anything it's just wishful thinking, sadly.

[JMC]

Which is all very interesting but completely beside the point, because these locations, however suitable, wouldn't raise a penny for the college!

True Dave but that is the college's problem & not of my concern.

I'm sure the college can become more efficient and create more income streams with a bit of thought, selling the land is an easy fix, using their assets more productively is more skilful. If the current guy doesn't have the financial background to pull it, there are plenty who can.

And the college would probably say what you want is not their concern.

[Harry]

I should think the idea of multi level car parks is the way to go. This seems to have worked very well at Waitrose in Cheadle Hulme.

[Duke Fame]

Bear in mind that Stockport Council's preferred location is Chadwick Street (presumably on the site of the existing car park, behind Iceland?), see the email from Paul Lawrence (Stockport Council Regeneration Manager) to Christina Cassidy (CAMSFC Principal).

This may be the worst possible scenario.

A new supermarket, which, some are claiming, would increase traffic.

The loss of a major car park in the town centre.

The college then having to sell the Hibbert Lane site for housing, so another few hundred homes built, which in turn means hundreds more cars.

And we will probably have another hundred or so homes on the Peacefield site eventually

It's not really that bad a deal, there is plenty scope for an extra level of parking on a number of car park sites however, it would be better to have the supermarket within the excisting retail area so maybe the car park at Derby St would be a better site.

[Duke Fame]

Duke, the college may very well be able to 'become more efficient and create more income streams', but there's no way that would raise 12 million of capital, sadly! And btw, the 'current guy' is a woman.

Whatever next, they'll get the vote.

Becoming more efficient and more income streams will give the ability to raise funds.

I'd take some convincing that the college needs to raise £12m in any case and the same applies to the need for replacing the current buildings with 'efficient buildings'. My first instinct is that's just a load of lefty mumbo jumbo but I can be convinced.

[Dave]

Duke, the college may very well be able to 'become more efficient and create more income streams', but there's no way that would raise 12 million of capital, sadly! And btw, the 'current guy' is a woman.

[Duke Fame]

I hadn't seen that, interesting but the site is suggested only IF it is believed an existing site in unavailable. My solution is to utilise the existing buildings if it is attractive to the commercial organisations. I see this as a solution as m&co get a cheaper rent, coop don't have an empty building, newco supermarket get a new store in a good location, MIA fend off Hibbert la & Marple get the supermarket they demand

Just a couple of possible problems there Duke.

M&Co may not want to move to smaller premises.

The Co-op used to be in the building where M&Co currently is, but then it had the whole ground floor, including what is now Superdrug. This wasn't large enough so they had the current store built. This may mean that the Co-op are the landlord there, and therefore wouldn't rent to a supermarket, even though it would only be convenience store size.

Also, I doubt that any new supermarket of a viable size, i.e. if they also got the Superdrug premises, would accept a site without car parking right alongside it.

If M&Co don’t want to move, so be it. I’m certainly not ever suggesting the local authority dictate what commercial business should do, people within the LA’s tend not to be very sharp & should never get involved in business.

I understand the Co-op is the landlord (or at least the owner of the current lease) in both the M&co shop & the one opposite the Italian. Whilst the co-op may not want to rent a property to a competitor in an ideal world, the threat to the co-op is that a competitor opens a much larger store on the college site. Renting to a competitor in a smaller store may be seen as not only the least dangerous option, it also blows the argument of any other store wanting to build on  new site that Marple people are demanding more competition. It also puts the co-op in control of who the competitor is which again may be seen as attractive in the circumstances.

As for size, the M&co does not use the upstairs of the building, that is quite a decent square footage.

I think the car-parking issue is easily resolved, the current car-park is close enough and the capacity can be increased with another car-park level added. With a bit of cladding and softening of the edges, multi-story car parks can be made quite presentable.