Tesco Expansion

TESCO STORE EXPANSION

As one of the local Town Councillors for the area in which Tesco is located I have a number of comments to make about the proposed expansion of the store.

My local concerns as local councillor relates to the scale of the expansion and its potential impact on the residential community around Hammonds Ridge. There are already localised flooding problems and the size of the retail site will have a significant impact on the area. It will need really sensitive development to soften the effect on the local community.

However, my main concern is the strategic impact the Tesco expansion will have on the town as a whole.

Tesco admits that the expansion of the store will divert trade away from the centre of the town. It says this loss will be modest at around 4.6% but we cannot be sure that it will not be higher. Indeed Burgess Hill Town

So if the loss of trade in the town centre is higher than Tesco admits the effect of its expansion on the town centre shopping could be devastating. Can we afford to take this risk at this time?

A vibran

I question the employment claims being made by Tesco. Is the Tesco expansion really generating 100 jobs or is it the case that most of the jobs are part time? How many full time equivalent posts are really being created? How many jobs will be lost if town centre shops close?

I know Tesco will point to some of the

Council’s planning consultant strongly questions the economic case that Tesco makes in this respect.t town centre is a crucial part of Burgess Hill’s regeneration strategy. By allowing Tesco to expand before we have built a strong town centre retail economy will make it much harder for the town to survive let alone compete with its out of town neighbour. Allowing the application will fly in the face of the strategy set out by Mid Sussex District Council, Burgess Hill Town Council and, indeed Central Government. If Tesco is interested in the future of Burgess Hill as a whole would it not be better for it to wait until the town centre has developed a sustainable economic future first?“goodies” that the expansion will bring in terms of finance for some projects, including the proposed new Church on Hammonds Ridge. In the scheme of things these amount to “small change” when compared with the profits that Tesco makes as a business. But as Councillors we have a duty to weigh the application against the wider needs of the town and not have our attention diverted by the apparent “goodies” on offer. The town needs its centre to be strong and I believe that at the current time the expansion of Tesco will have the opposite effect.

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