We vow to continue fighting reckless supermarket expansion
Written by Bill Heaney Tuesday, 27 July 2010
The decision not to go ahead with the Ashton Gate plans was the right one; the people of Southville and Bedminster will not now have to face extra traffic and pollution associated with the store, and the retailers of North Street can breathe a sigh of relief that their businesses will not be undermined, she said.
The Green Party urged the people of Bristol not to buy into the idea that supermarkets bring jobs and investment into communities: in fact, the arrival of a large supermarket in an area costs jobs and has a negative impact on the quality of life.
In his study of the effects of supermarkets on local communities, Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation has found that:
for each job created at a supermarket, 1.5 jobs are lost to local communities (1);
supermarket jobs are mostly low-paid and unskilled, whereas community businesses enable employees to develop skills (2);
an independent convenience store creates one job for less than half the turnover of a large supermarket (3);
for every £1 spent at a supermarket, 90p leaves the local community (4);
money spent in local businesses is "sticky", benefiting many more people than the few minimum wage jobs the superstores promise (5).
Unfortunately, on Friday the council also decided to grant an alcohol licence from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week, to Sainsbury's for the site of the former Thresher's on Gloucester Road, effectively giving the go-ahead to yet another supermarket in the area.
"I was disappointed by the lack of serious cross-examination by the councillors of Sainsbury's," said Green Party member and prospective councillor Graham Woodruff, a local resident who presented evidence at the planning hearing.
"Many times the applicant made broad statements, such as 'We've never had any trouble at any of our stores', and this was left unchallenged and taken as evidence despite others including myself producing evidence to contrary," Graham said.
Graham and others had challenged the licence on the grounds that the easy availability of cheap alcohol was detrimental to the area, pointing out problems with underage children obtaining alcohol in supermarkets, as well as street drinking and general public nuisance.
Meanwhile, Tesco is still trying to open up a supermarket in the old Jester's site on Cheltenham Road.
In defiance of the leader of the council, the local MP and a well-organised and popular campaign of resistance, Tesco have refused an independent consultation.
As the No Tesco in Stokes Croft campaign website says, "even if the majority of people don't want a Tesco on their high street they will open anyway because Tesco believe in the long run it will make them a profit".
These people do not care about your community, only taking your money, so please voice your opposition to further supermarket expansion in Bristol.
Sign the Green Party's on-line petition opposing a Sainsbury's on the Gloucester Road, or get involved with the No Tesco in Stokes Croft campaign.
Notes:
(1) "The Effects of Walmart on Local Labor Markets," David Neumark, Zhang Junfu and Stephen Ciccarella, Public Policy Institute of California, April 2006;
(2) "Tescopoly" by Andrew Simms, Constable, London, 2007, cf Chapter 5: Parasitic Retail;
(3) In 2004 the All-Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group found that small convenience stores created one job for £42,000 of turnover, compared to £95,000 for a superstore;
(4) "The Money Trail: Measuring Your Impact on The Local Economy Using LM3," The New Economics Foundation and The Countryside Agency, London, 2002;
(5) New Economics Forum research in August 2001 in Truro found every £10 spent with a vegetable box scheme was worth £25 to the local area, and another study in March 2005 in Northumberland showed that every £1 spent with a local supplier was worth £1.76 to the area.