LETTER: Save Barnoldswick from Tesco blight

A group of local residents, Friends of the Earth and the Chamber of Trade are campaigning to raise awareness of this vibrant unique town.

They do not want “Barlick” to become a clone town like so many others sadly have become as a result of a large superstore being built. This is why they will be opposing the application by Tesco to build such a store.

When a superstore moves in 276 jobs are lost in the area. If you have local food schemes 50% of business turnover is returned to that community. This compares with as little as 5% for superstores who also create a high volume of food wastage.

For residents in the immediate area, the price of their properties would be reduced by at least 10%.

The group would be interested in further information about how the community has been consulted. Certainly, a number of questions were left with IPB Communications (working for Tesco) at the two consultation days. These included increased traffic volume on narrow roads (which is always under assessed), where goods are sourced from and asking for examples of towns that have thrived when a superstore is built. The company never replied to any of these concerns.

According to a survey done by Pendle Council, West Craven has nearly enough retail trade at the moment so a superstore would divert trade from existing businesses.

Barnoldswick already has a supermarket the Co-operative which supports local initiatives through its community fund.

We should prize the personal friendly service of this town and use it or lose it!

For more information contact [email protected].

Please visit www.tescopoly.org. to discover how the rise of superstores have impacted on communities.

JANE WOOD

Member of Friends of the Earth and TIC

Local resident of 35 years