Panorama on iPlayer

It's here. Happy Christmas!

BBC coverage, and Panorama tonight

There's loads of material about supermarket expansion on the BBC News website today. It coincides with tonight's Panorama, titled Supermarkets: What Price Cheap Food, on BBC1 tonight at 9pm (an iPlayer link will follow). Within all the coverage, there's a news story about what's happening in Frome here. It begins: "People in Frome who do not want a Tesco store in the town are planning to take on the supermarket giant. The news comes as new BBC research shows six new supermarkets have opened in Somerset in the last two years and four more applications are pending..."

And another thing - ethics, tax and supermarkets

The gathering consensus that Mendip District Council's Development Brief appears to be a useful yardstick against which to assess planning proposals for this site suggests that some sort of ‘food store’ is likely to be part of any viable package. Can the community turn the ConDem’s ‘Localism’ agenda to its advantage, perhaps? Rather than having a particular supermarket operator imposed upon us by developers could we take a proactive role in choosing the firm that best fits with our aspirations for Frome?

While any mixed community is going to have widely divergent priorities and preferances, the 2 most frequently cited reasons for locating a supermarket at Saxonvale have been proximity to the town centre (accessibility) and the enticement it allegedly provides to draw in other retailers to set up here. Neither of these criteria favour any particular supermarket operator. How then, in an ideal world, would we decide?

In a town with a marked interest in fair trade, local sourcing, sutainability and transition to a post peak oil economy it could be argued that only the most ethical of supermarkets should be considered as being suitable for Saxonvale. A good place to start thinking about this is the Ethical Consumer website’s “Ethical buyer’s guide to supermarkets” which gives the following hierarchy (best to worst): Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Morrisons, Somerfield, Tesco, Asda…

While there are many criteria against which the ethical performance of supermarkets are measured, the Ethical Consumer website is surprisingly quiet on the subject of tax avoidance. Guess who said this: “The supermarkets don’t just have the planning system working in their favour, they’ve also got the tax man eating out of the palm of their hands. They say that ‘every little helps’, but then set up hugely complex tax avoidance schemes… Just look at what Tesco, our biggest retailer, is able to do… It may be legal, but it’s wrong.” (Nick Clegg, speech, 12.11.08)  One explanation for the relative silence on this subject may be the MacDonalds-like aggression with which certain supermarkets pursue allegations, witness The Guardian’s legal battle with Tesco in 2008.

The UK Uncut campaign seeks to contrast the current government’s enthusiasm for cutting public services with their disinclination to act on the massive tax avoidance of large corporations. If you haven’t already tuned into this, do start to take note. It can only be a matter of time before the campaign turns its attention from Topshop, HSBC, Boots and Vodaphone to multinational supermarkets. UK Uncut Campaigners argue that were these corporations to pay their fair share of tax on the astronomical profits that they make there would be much less need to make cuts. Tax Research UK estimates that up to £120bn is lost to the treasury through tax avoidance (Observer, 19.12.10 “Big companies fall silent as vocal protestors win propaganda war”).

Next meeting at the Cheese & Grain

This month's meeting about a proposed huge supermarket in the centre of Frome drew an amazing 400-plus turnout and crystallised real concern about the plans. As promised, there now follows a second public meeting - aimed at informing the town about the current

ownership and plans for the site, what could be put forward as an alternative, and how a campaign should develop.

We are pleased that representatives of Mendip District  Council will be coming to present the long-standing Planning Brief for the Saxonvale site, which contains no huge supermarket development of the kind now put forward. There will also be information about the site's current ownership status and practical steps members of the community

can take to influence the plans. Most importantly, we want the meeting to get to grips with some very pressing issues: What do people want to see on that side of the town? What are their questions about the Planning Brief, or anything else regarding local regeneration? And as a community, what should we do next?

We encourage everyone to come, whether they’re concerned, opposed, or simply interested, a trader, councillor, born and bred in Frome or a more recent arrival. The meeting will take place at the Cheese And Grain, Frome, on Wednesday January 19th, between 7.30pm and 9.30pm. See you there...

Some seasonal light relief

This is a scream: a Frome/supermarket-based game. It's here.

Information about the famous(ish) Planning Brief

Katy Duke, Frome's ex-Regeneration Officer, very kindly posted on the Open Thread about Mendip District Council's Planning Brief for the Saxonvale site, which was published in early 2005, after a great deal of work and consultation. 


She says: "Far from being flawed, the brief gives us a fantastic base from which to fight - it focusses on good design, pedestrian priority, built form appropriate for Frome & sensible street patterns. It doesn't support or propose a big foodstore."

You can download the whole thing (a very large pdf - be warned!) here.

Katy has also provided some background here, and reproduced some of the key text from the document here. There's also very useful stuff involving satellite views of the site, and an illustration of how much two possible sizes of supermarket would dominate the Saxonvale area.

As was proved at the Cheese & Grain meeting, any discussion of the site's prospects is bound to involve this document. At the next meeting - news of which will be in by the end of the week - we're aiming to have it explained, and to discuss how people feel about it.

What's the alternative? An open thread

Wednesday's meeting has led to a big discussion around town that tends to come back to one question: if the centre of Frome isn't to be remodelled around the retail development St James's Investments have in mind, what's the alternative - particularly when it comes to the Saxonvale site? In the past few days, we've heard talk about new green industries, sustainable visitor attractions... you name it.

Time, then, for an open thread. All thoughts, suggestions - however vague or tentative - gratefully accepted. In time, any alternative will have to be worked into something detailed and convincing. So this is only intended as a conversation-starter, but it's a good idea to get it moving.

Cheese and Grain meeting report

Wednesday's meeting at the Cheese & Grain drew a huge audience of around 400, and saw an animated 90-minute debate about what's planned for Frome. It reflected a mixture of concern and hostility about St James's Investments plans for the Saxonvale site, and what another large supermarket would do to the town's small shops and unique atmosphere.

The speakers were Elizabeth Winkler, who's involved in the No Tescos In Stokes Croft campaign, Graham Burgess from Frome Civic Society, Frome resident and Guardian journalist John Harris - and Quentin Webster from St James's Investments (pictured). The latter parried a huge number of questions and points raised by people at the meeting, and voiced some very interesting opinions.

St James's Investments has a long history of working with Tesco - recently, for example, the two companies came together to work on a new Tesco at the Bath Press site in Bath. But Webster expressed a very interesting set of views about Tesco, questioning in particular their treatment of local communities.

Nonetheless, a new Tesco in Frome was not ruled out. Webster talked about the importance of consultation, but said that a large supermarket - "slightly smaller" than the much-maligned Tesco in Shepton Mallet - was effectively non-negotiable. Judging by many contributions from the floor, irrespective of which supermarket Frome may actually get - and we can presumably rule out Asda, Sainsbury's and Lidl -  it is this prospect that causes people such worry.

If you don't like the sound of what's being proposed, another meeting is planned for early in the new year, when a campaign will start to take shape. If you didn't give us your contact details last night, you can email them to saxonvalesupermarket@gmail.com.

New Guardian film about Frome & the supermarket plan

It's here. Please have a look, and leave comments!

Full meeting details

Saxonvale – Let The People Speak!

After decades of painstaking work the plan to re-develop the semi-derelict Saxonvale area of Frome, agreed between Mendip District Council and the development company, Terramond, fell through recently. A national development company, St James Investments, has stepped in.

S.J.I. has strong links with Tesco and it is feared that they may be interested in constructing a ‘Tesco Extra’ hypermarket on the Saxon Vale site. Accompanying a store of this size would be a car park roughly twice the size of the current Market Yard car park. This is the size of store and car park that many hold responsible for the ‘ghost town’ feeling in Shepton Mallet’s High Street.

Many Frome residents are concerned by the prospect of an enormous supermarket at Saxonvale and the threat that their town could become as dead as Shepton. Many people and businesses have moved to Frome precisely because it is not like other towns. One friend of a Frome resident who had been planning to move here is so alarmed by the prospect of a hypermarket arriving in the town centre that he is now revising his plans.

To air the issues around the possible arrival of a massive Tesco store in Frome a public meeting is to be held at The Cheese & Grain on Wednesday 1^st December at 7.30pm. All are welcome to attend, whatever their views may be.

There will be a number of speakers at this meeting, including the eminent journalists Elisabeth Winkler and John Harris who have followed the rise of supermarkets in general and Tesco in particular for several years.

Elisabeth Winkler lived in Frome for ten years in the 1980’s. She was editor of the Soil Association Magazine for eight years and her ‘Real Food Lover’ blog was short-listed for a Guild of Food Writer’s award.   A passionate supporter of independent shops, she has been involved in the ‘No Tesco in Stoke’s Croft’ campaign in Bristol, where she now lives.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist, contributor to BBC arts review programmes and a Frome resident who has written extensively about the future of British towns, cities and villages. He also takes a close interest in what he refers to as, “the mess of issues surrounding supermarkets”. He has recently made a film about Frome for the Guardian website.

Graham Burgess, local architect and active member of Frome Civic Society, will explain the history of the Saxonvale redevelopment plans, but at the time of going to press the developers, St James Investments, have not responded to an invitation to speak at this meeting. Mendip District Council planning officers have also been invited, so their should be a wealth of knowledge available regarding the future of this site.  Audience members will be able to ask questions and to express their opinions.

Poster for Cheese & Grain meeting

Useful article

Hat-tip to warriet for this article from The Guardian: a warning from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment about the damage that could be wrought by supermarkets in hard economic times.

A quote:

"CABE is afraid that, due to the economic slump, supermarket developments are likely to be the only regeneration available to British towns in the near future, and "short-term economic gain will not compensate for the loss of local character and ability to change and adapt easily".

The warning comes after a shift in planning policy away from the giant out-of-town supermarkets now common to greenfield sites and on ringrounds in British towns and cities. The latest policy encourages development in town centres first, in order to promote sustainable economic growth. But the new in-town supermarkets are not being sufficiently well-designed to account for local context, according to CABE.

"Many schemes are simply repeating old out-of-town proposals – typically big, plain buildings in a large car park, which are unsuitable for town centres," said Richard Simmons, the CABE chief executive.

Sounds familiar, eh?

More meeting details

NEW HYPERMARKET FOR FROME ON YOUR DOORSTEP?

We believe that a giant new TESCO supermarket is being planned for Saxon Vale in Frome (the site between Lidl and M&S, bounded by the River Frome).

The previous plan that was agreed with Mendip District Council for Saxon Vale has fallen through. St James Investments (who work on behalf of the main supermarket operators) have stepped into the vacuum. 550 car parking spaces are being suggested (twice the size of the Market Yard car park). Garsdale will be the main access and exit so huge traffic increase is predicted through Wallbridge, Portway and Christchuch Street. 24 hour lighting and deliveries may also affect residential areas. We believe that a large hypermarket on the scale of a TESCO Extra (the size of store that many blame for the decline of Shepton Mallet’s High St) would have a significant negative impact on independent local shops and the character of Frome.

If you are concerned about this prospect and the many other issues associated with a giant supermarket arriving in the heart of our town you can act early rather than waiting for a fully formed planning application. Find out more and voice your opinion. Come to the first public meeting ~

The Cheese & Grain, Wednesday 1^st December at 7.30pm

For more information see our blog at:  http://www.saxonvalesupermarket.blogspot.com or email saxonvalesupermarket@gmail.com

First post

Plans are afoot for a a new supermarket in Frome: for more details, go here.

In order to air the issues at stake, a first public meeting is to be held at the Cheese & Grain on Wednesday December 1st starting at 7.30 and ending at 9.00pm. 

This meeting has been organised by concerned local people from various walks of life and all are welcome. Those who wish to read up on supermarket planning issues may like to visit the TESCOPOLY website before the meeting.

You can contact us at saxonvalesupermarket@gmail.com. More details and information follow...