It's good to see this potential local shop closures issue being debated properly. A central plank of MIA's campaign seems to be that such closures would be inevitable. Yet there is no hard and fast evidence to prove this point. I would trust the Tescopoly campaign on this no more than I would trust the PR departments of this country's biggest retailers, probably less so in fact. But that's my own opinion based somewhat on political leanings.
So apologies for raising the term 'scare-mongering' again but those on the No side seem to have been convinced that the town centre would be a ghost town soon after the opening of any new supermarket on Hibbert Lane. I was struck at the rally in the park by how widely this crystal ball gazing has been accepted as an incontrovertible truth, when my own eyes tell me that there are many towns close to us that support large supermarkets (slightly out of the town centre) and thriving local shops.
Sadly we can't clone Marple and run a parallel universe type experiment, so whatever does come to pass no one will know what would have happened under the alternative scenario.
Anyway, off topic slightly but I'm looking forward to popping into the co-op soon for all my legal needs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15187154Despite the title Tesco Law, the supermarket has said it has "no current plans to offer legal services". But the Co-operative was among the first stores to say it was interested in offering a legal business.