discussed the arrival of a new supermarket in Olney. I believe
snobbery was the word used to describe the reasons that many
people are against Tesco (not that we can do anything about it...) but
there's far more to it than that.
couple of years ago as accounting for £1 in every £7.50 spent on the
high street (and I've sure they have grown since then Retail Week
recently wrote that this year Tesco looks likely to break the £3bn
profit barrier). It is partly (although not entirely) the size and power
wielded by giants like Tesco that has led to the demise of once-
familiar high street names like Woolworths and they have a track
record of ignoring planning restrictions to do whatever they like in
order to increase their dominance (there is a Tesco Store in
Stockport for which part of the store cannot be used after Tesco
constructed a larger building than they were given permission for the
local authorities were left with a choice: put several hundred people
out of work by not allowing Tesco to open; or limit them to using the
floorspace for which permission was granted).
(they own the One Stop). So, having taken over one end of the high
street, they're now setting their ambitions a little closer to the heart
of our community.
as some low ones), for all its faults, is a company for whom
communities are part of their culture. I may question some of the
benefits of Fairtrade, renewable energy (in the form of wind) and
some of the other policies that they embrace but I admire their
employment policies, for example, which allow those who may
otherwise find it difficult to gain employment (e.g., through learning