RIDDLESDOWN
RESIDENTS' ASSOCIATION
T E S C O E X P A N S I O N
LATEST NEWS (As at 8 Jan 2008)
TESCO EXPANSION PLANS SHELVED
We are advised of plans by Tesco to extend the size of their Purley store. The matter is being discussed at the next Purley and Kenley Neighbourhood Partnership meeting on 19 September 2006 (click here to access website for details of meetings), The Purley Business Association has been pursuing the matter in preparation for the meeting and we display below some of their notes:
Purley Forum Minutes 19 September 2006
Welcome and introduction by Roger Crowther.
1 – Tesco
Andrew Harris, Tesco Property Development Manager, gave a summary of the plan for expanding the Purley Tesco store. They started thinking a year ago about the road layout and there were proposals from Transport for London (TfL) but for various reasons on both sides those have been dropped. AH has been involved for the past six months. There are no final plans drawn up yet for the store. They want to get the opinions of locals over the next few months. Tesco wants the village of Purley to benefit as well as Tesco. They have appointed new architects recently and they will be talking to TfL again. They have already received Board Approval in principle for the expansion and they are quite keen to go ahead.
Patrick Stones, Tesco Property Director, introduced himself. He stated that Tesco want to listen and consult with locals. The current store is now a bit dated and there is the opportunity to improve the town centre as a whole.
William Saffery, owner of Cape Café in Purley, introduced the Purley Business Association (PBA). He affirmed that Purley town centre is important to the traders and they are pleased Tesco is also concerned. There is a vital need to get this right. The PBA wants to see Purley developed.
Ken Trench, Chairman of the PBA, brought up a few queries. He had done some research into other Tesco developments and discovered that they don’t always get exactly what they want. Tesco had a 100,000 sq ft store planned in Dartford. They had Council approval but were refused by Ruth Kelly who said it would ‘create a sense of separation with the town centre’. Another development was refused by Ruth Kelly because of the ‘potential impact on vitality and viability of the centre’. Yet another Tesco development at Burnham on Sea was refused by Ruth Kelly because of ‘over development and a detrimental effect on nearby businesses.’
KT said that Purley is growing with much improvement over the last few years and the PBA want to work with developers. The PBA do, however, have some concerns about the Purley Tesco development and wanted certain protections incorporated.
The main points were:
- Competitive restrictions on Tesco for services already available in the town such as Post Office, Opticians, Travel agents, etc.
- No competition to newsagents, florists, from Tesco opening a convenience store on the site or nearby
- Parking to be available on a basis that allows joint visits
- real working relationship with Tesco
Tarsem Flora, Chairman of the Purley & Woodcote Residents’ Association (PWRA) expressed concerns about the over development of the area citing figures that would mean a 44% rise in the local population over the next few years.
Ken Trench asked if we were going to get Council services to match all this growth. Patrick Stones said that was a discussion for a different time but was confident it could be accomplished.
William Saffery reiterated that the PBA welcome the development of Purley and the increase in residents that it brings. He did emphasise that if we lose small retailers because people find it easy to pop into Tesco, then we have a long term problem. We need to protect the vitality and viability of Purley town centre.
Roger Capham, Kenley & District Residents’ Association, asked what is it that Tesco actually wants to do.
Patrick Stones said they want to increase the size of the store, offer a wider variety of things for sale and increase their non-food sales – see Tesco website for stated objectives). To accomplish this they would knock down the existing store and start again. They would move the building to a different place on the site and improve the road layout. They acknowledge that the impact on the town centre is important but see this as an opportunity to increase the interaction between Tesco and Purley. It would be similar to other existing Tesco locations.
Ken Trench said he had heard that Tesco were launching a catalogue store with 15 collection points around the country and asked if Purley was one of them. Patrick Stones said not at the moment.
Mike Fisher, new Leader of the Council for Croydon, said it was a time of challenge and opportunity and that we ‘need to get it right’. The Mayor of London is applying enormous pressure to build houses but Croydon Council are resisting as they feel it would be detrimental to the Borough. He acknowledged the need to reinvigorate Purley and commented that he had seen the Kensington High Street Tesco which had a high standard of housing above it.
Rev Charles Trefusis, Vicar of Christ Church Purley, stated that Tesco is a good store but it has been developed at the cost of Purley town centre. The new development is either an opportunity or a threat. He asked whether Tesco is going to do something positive with the new development.
Andrew Harris agreed that there are many things wrong with the current store. The new development would make better use of the land – being built up rather than being a single level. Having the store over the parking would bring the parking closer to the town centre. Tesco are keen to have discussions with Croydon Council, Purley residents, traders, etc.
Councillor Graham Bass asked where TfL fit into this development.
Steve Butterworth, Planning Director, G L Hearn Planning Consultants, said that the road scheme is critical to the plan. The North 1/South 1 plan (as put to the community some time ago) is actually still in discussion. It would enable the Tesco store to turn around where buses could get closer to the entrance. Purley is affected by national and local trends. Croydon shopping centre draws people away from Purley but so do the Purley Way retail parks. Tesco brings people back.
2 – High Street (old Sainsburys/Purley Pool) and Russell Hill Place
Cllr Tim Pollard, Croydon Cabinet Member for Finance & Regeneration, told the meeting that they were looking at how all developments would affect the community as a whole and that the developments must work together with other proposals. There is no developer yet for the above two properties.
Tony Middleton, Croydon Council’s Divisional Director, Assets & Facilities Management, stated that the new administration was reviewing the High Street project. The previous development was high density and they are now reviewing it in conjunction with other developments.
With respect to the development of Russell Hill Place, TM commented that the car park suffers from crime, is not well lit and has a poor surface. The new scheme puts the car park under cover with better access and CCTV. Above the car park will be a new headquarters office for the charity Mind and 36 flats. They have currently allocated eight parking spaces for Mind and 22 for residents, along with the same 56 public parking spaces that we already have.
Phil Reed, newsletter editor for the PWRA, argued that retaining the current level of parking (56 public spaces) is not enough. There is already pressure on those spaces and with 36 flats and only 22 allocated spaces, there would be more pressure. Tony Middleton said that the number of parking spaces is in line with the UDP but said the current administration would like to see more spaces available.
Tarsem Flora asked if it was reasonable to have yet another mental health facility in Purley but was reassured that this was an office only.
Jean Hain of the Purley Unity Reformed Church expressed concern over how the church might be affected with the reduction of light, along with concerns over the small number of parking spaces. Tony Middleton said the development wouldn’t be especially high but they would look at the light levels for the church.
3 – Hospital Site
Stephen Wells, Director of Estates & Facilities, Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust and Project Director told the meeting they are spending £200,000 on the building to spruce it up long enough to get to the development stae. The contract was signed in February and the developers have five years for completion. The major challenge at this point is securing a retailer. The chief concern of possible retailers is the parking situation.
Phil Reed asked if they would decrease the density of the development or find more parking. SW said discussions were ongoing.
Frank Newitt of the Bourne Society asked about access and was reassured that there would be access from both Brighton Road and Pampisford Road for the new development making an improvement. London Ambulance Service will not be located at the new hospital.
4 – Island Site
John Foster, Director of the development company 58:12 (a reference from the Old Testament of the Bible, Isaiah 58 v 12 ‘Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations, you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.’), informed the meeting that outline planning permission had been submitted. Purley Baptist Church (PBC) has expanded to the capacity of the current site. The vision is to make the site a pleasant place to live and work. There was a model available for perusal, together with drawings and a copy of the outline planning application. It is to be a mixed development of church, retail and residential. A 500-600 seat auditorium is planned along with a sports hall and community facilities. PBC has been using the properties as it has acquired them to support the community.
5 – S106 Money
Ken Trench asked where the current S106 money has been allocated and asked if there could be input from the community. Iain Sim, Croydon’s Director, Urban Regeneration Division, said that S106s were part of the Town & Country Planning Act and must be directly related to the development itself and its impact on the vicinity.
5/
6 – Security and Crime Prevention
Cllr Steve O'Connell gave the meeting an outline of the Council and Police plans for increasing the staffing of Police in Purley. A premises in Purley would be opened as an operations centre for the Police working in the area, but would not be open at all times.
Questions were asked about where response times were extremely long when telephone calls were made. Cllr O'Connell said that for various degrees of urgency different telephone numbers should be used.
These numbers are:
EMERGENCY: 999
Reporting Crime / incidents: 020 8667 1212
Contacting Purley Safer Neighbourhood Policing Team: 020 8721 2467 (This is a mobile phone used by the members of the team on duty.)
7 – Town Centre Manager for Purley
Angelina Purcell, Chief Executive of Croydon Business Ltd, outlined the responsibilities and funding of Croydon Business which is funded by both Government and the local Council, for various uses to increase the business success and prosperity of the Borough. Her good news was that Purley is to get a District Centre Manager whose task would be to help improve all aspects of the Purley Town Centre businesses. The Manager would be shared with Coulsdon.
For Purley the Manager would have a budget that would be used by consultation with individuals with businesses in Purley. The Manager would act as a liaison point between the Council and local interests and work to help businesses improve the success of their business. Attracting new businesses into the town was another responsibility the Manager would have. 39 applications for the 7 managers required in the Borough had been received and interviews were currently taking place.
(Addendum: Since the Forum, the PBA has been informed that Purley will have its own dedicated District Centre Manager, rather than having to share a single manager for Purley and Coulsdon.)
8 – Christmas Lights
Pam Bryan, PBA and PBC, told the meeting that local businesses had contributed sufficient to ensure that the town again had Christmas lights, but more was needed to increase the number of lights. A special event was to be held in November for the 'switch-on' by the star of the Christmas pantomime at the Fairfield Hall. Application had been made for part of the High Street to be closed so that a number of stalls and children's rides could be installed.
9 – Purley Swimming Pool
Tony Middleton of Croydon Council reported that Purley Pool was coming to the end of its useful life and required an expenditure of £1.5-million. It would be
6/
difficult for the Council to spend this sort of sum when the building itself may be replaced in 3 to 4 years.
10 – Street lighting
Cllr Donald Speakman reported that the new Council administration was not making a global replacement of all street lighting in the Borough, but selecting the streets and roads where it was felt it was particularly needed. Where residents and businesses felt there was a special need they should contact their local Councillor.
(Addendum: At the Forum the question of residential over-development was raised but no figures seemed to be available.
In an e-mail to Ken Trench (29.03.06) Croydon Council said: "The Census of Population and GLA projections do not allow measurement of the Town Centre as defined in the Action Plan and Supplementary Planning Guide.
The GLA population projections for the Purley Ward are as follows:
2006: 13,308 persons
2011: 14,122 persons
2016: 14,631 persons
2021: 14,932 persons
This equates to a projected population increase of 1,632 persons from 2006-2021 inclusive of additional housing sites identified in the London Capacity Study. In other words, the anticipated additional population from the development of sites such as the Purley Hospital, Whytecliffe Road North has been factored in.)
Email dated 7.8.06 from Ken Trench, PBA, to various local bodies and individuals
DRAFT BRIEFING NOTE:
DEVELOPMENT OF TESCO STORE PURLEY
Report in Croydon Advertiser: 4th August 2006: "Purley's biggest store is set to double in size . . . . .to cope with increased demand."
Tim Pollard, Cabinet member for Finance & Regeneration, is quoted in the report as saying, "We have just heard that Tesco have now got their main board approval to apply for planning permission to nearly double the size of their Purley store. . . . . . .we have potential to gain significantly from this expansion in terms of new facilities in Purley."
HISTORY
Size:
When Tesco first received Planning permission to build its store on the
old waterworks it was as a supermarket for Food and drinks and covered
some 40,000 square feet.
Square footage was later increased to 60,000 square feet (with Planning
permission) and last year that was increased by a further 25% to 75,000
square feet by Tesco installing a mezzanine floor for which they did not
need Planning permission.
The store now sells a wide range of products including clothing and white
goods.
Before the last floor area increase the store attracted some 9,000
visitors a day. No recent figure is available, but the impression is that
the number has increased.
Parking:
Tesco initially had 900 car parking spaces, but with the extensions,
petrol station addition and more space being used for product storage and
home delivery services this has been reduced to just over 450.
The concept when the Tesco devopment was initially proposed was that Tesco
would link with Purley Town Centre and that parking would be available for
those who also wanted to visit the town.
At the moment many users of the Town Centre's facilities such as Post
Office, hairdressers, travel agents, dentists, doctors, shops bars and
restaurants park at Tesco's and walk to the town whether they link it with
a shopping trip to Tesco or not.
The Tesco parking time limit is currently 3-hours and a charge of £70 is
imposed if time is exceeded.
Lack of parking is a key factor in Purley Town Centre's regeneration. A
major fear of Purley traders is that Tesco's proposed growth could mean a
reduction in parking availability for those using the Tesco car park and
wishing to cross over into Purley.
Traffic:
No figure has been made public on how many traffic movements there are in
and out of Tesco Purley, but some put it as high as 10% of the total
around the Purley Cross island.
Most vehicles enter Tesco by making a right turn across the busy A22.
In the Council's Regeneration Strategy made public in 2002 a proposed road
improvement scheme for Purley Cross involved taking traffic from the South
around the back of Tesco and joining the Brighton Road at traffic lights.
Initial funding for this was allocated by Transport for London, but
funding was removed from TfL's 5-year budget after Tesco showed no
interest in taking the scheme forward.
With the prospect of East to West traffic in Brighton Road at Purley being
considerably worsened once the Coulsdon by-pass is open, and the addition
of more Tesco traffic exiting in Brighton Road, will this proposed road
improvement be viable?
Benefits and Dangers
The benefits of increased footfall that Town Centre traders hoped would
accrue from Tesco shoppers doing their 'commodity' shopping at Tesco and
then walking through to the Town Centre for 'services' and 'leisure'
shopping did not happen. Relatively few shoppers coming into Purley to
shop at Tesco also visit the Town Centre.
Purley Business Association has been campaigning for proper signage for
Purley that would alert visitors to the town, and 80,000 motorists a day
passing through, that Purley is more than just Tesco. A town map and guide
is needed outside Tesco to show we have facilities in the Town and outlets
such as Pizza Express, Post Office, Opticians, Laura Ashley, Blockbusters,
KFC and a Swimming Pool.
An initial development intention was, I am told, that an entrance/exit to
Tesco would face the Town Centre at the top of the double stairs at the
corner of the shop. This would have been a help.
A danger is that in any redevelopment Tesco will, obviously, wish to make
the most of every profit opportunity - the inclusion of a main Post Office
in the store (as they have achieved in Banstead) would be detrimental.
A new store making a feature of its Departments such as post office;
bakery/sandwiches; newsagents; flowers; chemist/pharmacy, off-licence,
etc. in a row with direct access from the central island frontage for each
'shop' would be detrimental and work against a Tesco/Town Centre mix.
A block should also be placed on the Tesco organisation acquiring retail
properties within say a 2-mile radius of their Purley store and
subsequently leasing them to others including 'non-food/drink' use in
rental agreements.
Croydon Council has agreed a new Tesco store in New Addington's Central
parade with 300 social housing flats. The 'planning gain' arrangement for
this is reported as being a swimming pool, library and community centre.
A new swimming pool and library are possible to be coming to Purley with
the new High Street development, currently being discussed with the
Council and the Island Site plans incorporate community facilities
(including a room seating 500).
Should the outcome of the large High Street development discussions be
known before anyone is asked to make a decision on any Tesco proposal?
With the total number of social/affordable flat developments currently
being planned for Purley already reaching over 700 would a further 300 on
the Tesco site unbalance the mix that Purley needs if it is to
successfully regenerate?
Summary of article in the London Evening Standard, Saturday, May 25th, 2006
"Government Get Tough on new Tesco Development"
Ruth Kelly, the new Minister for Communities and Local Government, has blocked plans for a new Tesco superstore and housing development at Higham Park in Waltham Forest. Under existing powers, she “called in” the scheme because of it’s potential impact on the “vitality and viability of existing (shopping) centres”.
Tesco’s original planning application in 2004 was rejected by the local Council, but passed after modifications to the scheme which includes a superstore, 349 parking spaces, 2 shop units and 78 flats. There are already 3 Tesco superstores within 5 miles of the site and local residents and Councillors have welcomed the Government’s decision to block the application.
According to John Beanse, a local Lib-Dem Councillor, the proposed site was only a short distance from small shops which are already struggling and a new Tesco store would have “tipped them over the edge”.
Tesco’s defended the scheme saying that it would provide “much-needed employment” (except if you happen to be a local shopkeeper) and “affordable homes”.
(Summarised from Jonathan Prynn’s article in the London Evening Standard, 25 May 2006)
Another comment . . . . . . . . .
Will this push existing CBDs to their ‘tipping point’?
Critics have long pointed to the expansion of out-of-town development as a causal factor accelerating the decline of traditional Central Business Districts (CBDs) in smaller towns. 13,000 high-order (specialist) shops closed in the UK between 1997 and 2002 (The Guardian, 05 February 2004). However, the survival of chemists, electrical goods and clothing stores has hitherto prevented some smaller CBDs from reaching their tipping point. This is the point at which so many key services have been removed that a critical number of people decide to withdraw their custom from that retail centre altogether. Trade is then lowered well below threshold levels for the remaining services resulting in widespread further closures. New mezzanine developments may thus jeopardise the future of many smaller CBDs that are already perilously close to their tipping-points.
Email of 20.8.06 from Ken Trench, PBA, to invitees to the Purley & Kenley NP meetings:
Reaction of Purley
Business Association members to the Tesco presentation at
Purley Forum 19 Sept 2006
On the evening of the Purley Forum meeting held on September 19th members of the Purley Business Association met to receive a report on the Tesco presentation that had been made at the morning meeting. This is a summary of that meeting.
Ken Trench (Chairman) and William Saffery (Cape Café) who represented the PBA at the Forum gave their report highlighting the following points:
The Tesco Presentation The Tesco presenters Patrick Stones, Property Director, and Andrew Harris, Property Development Manager for South London, said they had received Tesco Board approval to re-develop the Purley store.
They said they would not be presenting detailed plans as these were still being discussed, but made the following points:
The PBA Response William Saffery made the point that Purley was regenerating, but that the Tesco enlargement was a "threat or opportunity" depending or how its integration and liasion with the Purley 'village' was handled. To benefit Purley the new development had to encourage joint visits.
Ken Trench reported that Ruth Kelly as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had used her powers to stop three proposed developments of large town centre Tesco stores that had been approved by Local Authority planners. The reason for her doing this was because she felt they would:
He felt these decisions showed that the Secretary of State was looking for a new approach and vision that would allow superstores and local business centres to operate successfully.
To do this Tesco would have to agree that certain protections were incorporated in Planning approvals and for the Purley proposal these could include:
1. COMPETITION RESTRICTIONS Tesco to agree to not introduce in an enlarged store goods/services not presently available at the store and which are satisfactorily supplied by traders presently in the town. These voluntary agreements to cover Post Office, Opticians, Travel Agents and others to be discussed.
2. CONVENIENCE OUTLET Tesco to agree to not introduce into the new development, or Purley, a 'convenience' outlet.
3. FUTURE USE Should Tesco at some time in the future leave the site there would be no restriction on it being used in future as a grocery outlet.
4. CAR PARKING Initial planning permission for Tesco was 743 car parking spaces for a 40,000 sq ft store to encourage joint visits. A new development should involve sufficient car parking to encourage joint visits, but not allow commuter parking.
5. SIGNAGE & LIASION On the Tesco site there should be signage to help make shoppers aware of the shopping offer in the town centre.
PBA MEMBERS' DISCUSSION following the report
The general feeling of the meeting was that, unless some written agreement was obtained from Tesco that there would protection for existing retailers, their proposal should be strongly opposed. Proof could be supplied to the Ministry of Communities and Local Government that the viability of local retailers would be threatened.
A minority of members felt that the scheme should be opposed even if promises were received as Tesco could not be trusted. They had erected a car parking structure in Purley without permission, and a BBC programme had been aired outlining their approach to planning and their "clout to flout" local authority restrictions.
A florist said that it was impossible to compete with Tesco on price for standard items ("What Tesco sell for £1.99 I buy at £2, and so my business is service. If they have more space will Tesco start selling wedding bouquets and wreaths," was one comment)
One member felt the road proposals were not logical and that, with increased traffic from the Coulsdon by-pass, it would mean traffic would probably spend an additional 10-minutes going through the town. Anyone coming from the Godstone Road to the High Street would have a much longer journey. The point was made that in Norwood a similar plan that had been in operation for some time had not been successful.
A retailer facing the central island felt that loss of passing traffic would not be a benefit.
The new Tesco at Slough was two storeys and was said to be attractive by a member who felt that if Tesco was five or six storeys it would be an undesirable over-development.
One member showed a poster produced by the group opposing a new Sainsbury's supermarket in Dorking and suggested the PBA produced a similar poster.
The point was made that nobody knew what Tesco's long-term plans involved. Where the town initially welcomed a grocery store it now had something much different, and over the next 10-15 years could see a similar widening of its offerings to include even services such as undertaking and estate agencies.
DECISIONS AGREED AFTER THE DISCUSSION