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by Lib Dem team on 14 May, 2011
If the sign outside it is accurate, the new Tesco Express on Church Road, Gatley will open on Friday (20th May 2011).
The Tesco is an interesting case: they didn’t have to apply for planning permission to open it. Because there was previously a pub in the building, planning law says that you can open a retail unit in the same premises without any additional permission.
Had they wanted to change the frontage of the Red Lion they would have needed permission, but you’ll see they’ve retained the frontage (whilst cleaning it up) and put in access via a new annex.
So it wasn’t a development the councillors had much say over, but what will it mean for the village?
My personal feeling is that having a third convenience store on Church Road is probably an improvement on the old Red Lion pub, which was poorly managed and caused all sorts of problems for local residents before it was closed down.
My hunch is it will mainly compete against the existing Co-op stores. It may have a knock-on effect on the Tatton cinema site (perhaps discouraging the opening of a further fourth convenience store there), so we’ll just have to see what happens.
Some people I’ve spoken to welcome the idea of a bit of competition for the Co-ops, or a store that’s a bit closer for those at that end of the village. Others are concerned about the effect of a Tesco store in the village, worried that it might put pressure on other retailers in the village.
14 Comments
Typical Tesco! Vote with your feet. I will.
What does the previous comment mean ?
Do you know how many people Tesco employ and how much Corporation tax they pay ?
Do me a favour, tesco is a great British success story !
anyone know what is happening with the first floor of this building? Will it become apartments or are tesco using it for storage?
As a near neighbour one welcomes Tesco… providing they do not become the noisy and anti-social neighbour the the Red Lion was (from easter ’04 at least).
Parking congestion already blights the ‘Green’. Even with the Tesco car park the additional demand for parking space will certainly blight The Village. This will be followed with calls to turn The Green green grass into tarmac.
Crazy!
David
“Blight” – I don’t think so.
These convenience stores attract more walkers than drivers.
I am sure our Councillors will protect Gatley Green, even though your suggestion is ludicrous
Iain,
Have Tesco been approached for a contribution towards the Clock renovation ?
I remember you published a letter from them to Councillors indicating that they would consider a contribution to community projects.
On car parking, it’s an issue we’ll have to watch closely. However, it is true that other similar stores have little or no car parking and that tends not to cause problems. People either walk to the Express stores, or their shopping trips are quick.
There are no plans at all to remove Gatley Green (quite the opposite, in fact – we want to make it more green, not less.
I don’t know if Tesco have been approached on the clock renovation.
Car parking seems just about manageable at present. Hopefully the Council won’t make it worse by introducing residents only parking on roads around the centre. That really would be a death knell for local traders.
Iain,
Tesco did actually submit an application for the conversion of the red lion, I came across it at cheadle library quite a few months back. The application was submitted by an agent and made no reference to a change of use to a convenience store. Instead it included items like installation of refrigeration equipment and plans/drawings showing the proposed elevations (but without signage).
I’m gald there is a new store in the village as personally I’m not a fan of Co-op. I’m not a fan of Tesco either, but the new store does look good and I feel will be good for Gatley.
All we need to do know is knock down the unsightly row of shops/flats oppposite gately green, then our village would be a real treasure!(sorry coffee fix – i like what you have done in unsightly surroundings)
Hi Richard,
You’re right about the Tesco application.
They didn’t need permission to open a convenience store, but there were some changes they made to the building which required planning permission – for example the side annex which is now the entrance.
The application was granted by officers and I don’t think there were any grounds to refuse it.
Tesco are, of course, very good at using the planning system effectively to get what they want – as you’d expect from a company as successful as they are.
I was wondering if you know whether there are any available part time jobs to apply for here at the new tesco?
Looks smart, but, behind the ‘scenes’…
out of sight, out of mind… a small skip worths of rubbish remains concealed behind the brick wall at the rear of the premises (the one with the trees growing out the top ), items dumped include a pallet, paint cans and other detritus from the pub days.
Question, does it matter ? (out of sight…), and, if it does, who should clean-up their act ? (Tesco, Council, Big Society ? !).
Over to you, councillor !
Tesco IS NOT a “British success story”.
They are a typical corporate giant, forcing farmers out of business,illegally using child labour overseas, paying workers minimum wage, destroying independent local traders.
They will not attract more walkers than drivers, the road space outside tesco’s has been turned into a mini car park (this was happening prior to the red lion take over), cars parked on all junctions, cars even parked in the middle of the road, it needs direct action to remove the lot of them.
Any cycle parking provision from tesco’s ?
Non to be seen !!
I WILL NEVER use tesco’s .