Tesco - Aberystwyth fights back - Updated

Eurwen has posted a comment on the story dealing with Tesco's plans to build a new superstore close to the historic centre of Aberystwyth which deserves a wider audience. It is reproduced in its entirety below.

Do look at Ceredigion Cllr Alun Williams' blogspot. It's not only Mrs Jones' street that's threatened with demolition, but the Park Avenue Daycentre for elderly and disabled people and related groups (Arthritis Care, Visually Impaired, Gateway Club for people with learning difficulties). An emergency group has been established to fight this demolition and Mrs Jones supports it. A petition with 4,000+ signatures is to be presented to Ceredigion Council on 6 December at 9.45am when Cabinet next meets. Silent vigils are held in protest each Saturday at Park Ave, 2-3pm. All welcome.

Cllr Williams' blog can be found here

It was a supermarket planning battle which led to the creation of this blog. In Newcastle Emlyn we fought for almost three years against a proposed development for yet another supermarket, and lost by a whisker in September when the Independent and Labour members of Carmarthenshire's planning committee voted as a group to accept the application, which contained serious and obvious flaws.

The developer insisted throughout that no specific supermarket group had done a deal to take over the site, but now a couple of months after planning was granted, rumours are circulating locally that he has done a deal with Tesco, which will expand its Cardigan store and build another in our town.

Fighting supermarket planning applications can drag on for years and years, and this process inevitably wears down local opposition. But Aberystwyth has some good cards in its hand, and there should be no shortage of people with the stamina and skills needed to dig in for the long haul. A campaign which brings together local people, politicians and the skills and expertise which exist in the university could well succeed in getting the plans changed.

Pob lwc i chi i gyd.

Update

Another correspondent has informed me that in addition to the houses and the Day Centre, the Tesco plan will also require demolition of the Drill Hall, which may be a listed building.

Not only that, but work has already started on fitting out the Town Hall to house the Day Centre, which suggests that the public consultation on the plans is like the public "consultations" we are so familiar with in Carmarthenshire.
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