Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I ask this question as i've come across it quite a lot recently.

With the influx of chain stores and supermarkets, the homogenising of towns across the UK is well under way. Many, many towns are exactly the same, and I'd argue that although supermarkets bring jobs, and hence putting money in to our community, is that really the case? How much money do we lose from our town being just another chain store location?

I had the delight of wandering around the North Quarter (or at least thats what I think its called) in Manchester. There were a lot of independent shops all selling unique things that I hadn't come across before. It was really interesting unlike the countless clones of chain stores in Manchester town center.

Is it really to our benefit that supermarkets (namely Tesco) have so much power around the country? Forcing local shops to close, paying farmers a pittance, importing goods from around the world as they're cheaper than our homemade alternatives?

Tescos and other such companies have considerable influence in many places of power. They employ just under 300thousand people, thats a considerable amount of bargaining power with any government.

Do we really want a further expansion of profit driven supermarkets and unattractive, uninteresting clone towns?

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

In a word......NO.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

It's all down to Market Forces.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

used too have quite a few independants in accy, and in my opinion the town was much better for them, sadly as yerself said = Market Forces, dont make it more palatable, but thats the way of it.:(

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I dont like it Cyfr, but I also dont like the amount of pound and charity shops we have either, I would love to see more independants in Accy but they probably couldn't afford the rent, esp in the Arndale.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

in Blackburn we have 6 supermarkets...morrisons, asda, (several) tesco's, aldi, lidl and netto, even though they do create jobs they also kill jobs too....there was only 1 english butcher between Accrington and Blackburn (i mean between blackburn rd and accy rd) he wasnt making much profit thanx to cheaper supermarkets, his shop was just passed intack traffic lights, earlier this year he had to close the shop due to lack of trade, its not fair that such things are happening, i would rather go round a traditional market and buy traditional local food than go to the supermarkets which arent environmentally friendly, they import most of there groceries from other countries which doesn't help the earth at all.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Not just down to market forces, but also to the needs of modern society.
Before a council grant planning permission, the first question they ask themselves is 'Is there a need for this facility?'. Research is done incuding asking large slices of the community. Unfortunately, we are all busy people these days, and do not have the luxury of wandering around from shop to shop looking for unusual articles or going to the market for veg, local butcher for meat and hardware shop, etc. for varying items.

You still a student Cyfr .. wait 'til you have joined us workers, parents, etc., and see if you still can grant yourself the time to wander leisurely around. Reply in 10 years time.

Sad I grant you .. particularly with Tescos ... they are the bullies, and never been refused yet. Like the application for Gt.Harwood .. I don't see a need for them .. the Co-op/Whiteheads are excellent and to me no need for anymore, but let us see what happens.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I would say no but the Tesco Bakery is a god send. Chocolate Croissant

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

sad as it is with money so tight and taxes so high most people look for econemy .

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Exactly davo .. (hope your hand better,by the way) .. and with house prices rising so much now, have no choice, have we?

We are an enemy to ourselves.

By the way Cyfr did you, by any chance, buy anything ? x

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

From Manchester? No, but thats because I had stopped over at a friends and had no money on me, if I had money on me i'd have bought items from several of the shops.

Actually I tell a lie, I did buy a tshirt with the £10 I had.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

katex hand still bad waiting for mra scan

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I rarely visit any shop of any kind - I can buy all I want and /or need on the internet and have it delivered. More and more people will realise that this is the new way to shop and the town centres will die anyway.

Ps - hairdressers,dentists, optcians,chiropodists, doctors need personal attendance but chemists deliver

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I have to agree with Flashytart on this one. Supermarkets not only create jobs but they cost the jobs of those working in smaller shops. I do like to get fresh stuff off the market and when I'm not working I will often go market shopping. On days out we will normally find an independent butchers or farmer's market and come home with enough different flavoured sausage to fill the freezer and tons of cheeses. I don't believe that supermarkets are much cheaper than smaller shops, if the cost of tonights shopping at Tesco is anything to go by......

I'm having to have a glass of wine to get over it..:D ;)

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

and more jobs will go. lets get more lazy and stay in doors .

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

[quote=Cyfr;416101]
I had the delight of wandering around the North Quarter (or at least thats what I think its called) in Manchester. There were a lot of independent shops all selling unique things that I hadn't come across before. It was really interesting unlike the countless clones of chain stores in Manchester town center.

the Northern Quarter is a hip end of town cyfr. shops selling that sort of stuff would be more likey to set up there. accrington on the other hand is a mainstream family town where most people are seem to trod off to the supermarket buying products they are familiar with. i hate the uniformity and the trash those supermarkets bring but we havnt much choice in accy. the only reason supermarkets spring up is cause peoplego to them

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

wholesome organic foods are available for delivery on the internet -just need freezer space so you can buy bulk to offset delivery charge.
A tank of petrol lasts me 2 months or more because I only need to leave the house to socialise.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I dread to think what sort of social and economic consequences there would be if everyone started shopping online for everything. There'd be pretty high unemployment!

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

was talking to an old friend this aft,who had the sewing stall inside the market hall, shes been trying to sell the buisness for last 2 years, i asked her if she had finally sold,she replied NO it was better to WALK AWAY. thats a sad indictment of buisness life in accy centre i think.:(

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Delivery jobs will expand - 1 van delivering 20 parcels will leave a smaller 'carbon footprint' than 20 people visiting a store. More jobs will be created for staff at parcel depots and will be occupied more productively than shop assistants hanging about waiting fo a customer to walk through the shop door

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

end of the day the northern quarter has a market of customers to support it

ppl go there far and wide to look at those quirky stuff - afflecks palace is an institute for that

BUT

start something in accy like that and it'll close down within a few months

as shown by the many quirky places that were started up and shut down eg in the arcade there was that shop that wud sell wooden furniture

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

When the big stores move in the little guys fold. We have one Walmart and another is planned, all the big grocery stores are chains: Loblaws, A&P, Loeb, Food Basics. And then the box stores move in. In the Riocan centre we have two stores selling electronics, Best Buy and Future Shop (both owned by the same company). And the only two restaurants in the place are Montana's Cookhouse, and Kelsey's (both owned by the same company). After a while, service and quality take a dump and prices go up. Many of these companies are American, so there is a move on amongst consumers to shop Canadian ... like Rona or Canadian Tire instead of Home Depot; or Giant Tiger instead of Walmart. Unfortunately this does little for the little guys who have been forced out of business.

Problem is, Walmart, hated tho it is by customers and staff alike, still has the best stuff at great prices; and their aftermarket service is top notch.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

i think yes - its inevitable so we shud just go with it

the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages adn if the small product wants to exist it can as many items are from such a range.

also they're cheap :D

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Buying online I assume you mean from tesco online etc.

Your telling me that transporting food/goods around the country/world is less carbon polluting than going to your local market where produce is from the local area and has travelled the least distance?

I highly doubt that there will be a positive impact in terms of employment. Lets say 1 person can deliver 20 peoples shopping in under an hour. How many people would be served by how many people on tills in that hour? Parcel depots will just become more reliant on technology leaving less and less room for workforce if they have such a huge influx of profit from high growth.

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

<Buying online I assume you mean from tesco online etc.>

I mean absolutely ANYBODY on line. I have bought herbal remedies from a small store in Colne! A hat from a woman in Southport! - If you have time to look for it, you will find it

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Well replace tesco with anything really. And if you have to buy several things from several locations online that could be near each other in a local town, you're increasing your carbon footprint 10fold!

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

The goods have to be shipped in by those local stores before locals use fuel to go to see them - except farmers markets, which I agree are very economic. More and more farmers are setting up internet supply businesses -good news!- better food to more people -and cuts out the middleman (which is what shops are)

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I visualise than within the next 50 years town centres will not be shopping centres but will be social centres. Restaurants, salons, street cafe s, theraputic treatment clinics, opticians, - all the businessess which need personal attendance +social gathering venues.

We used to be called 'a nation of shopkeepers'-- we will eventually be 'a nation of delivery drivers' :)

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

Re: Should we be letting supermarkets/chainstores establish in our town?
 

I bake my own bread (no additives- I'm a bit of a food freak :) )
As for browsing -there's no holding me back on EBay - and I dont get sore feet whilst doing it :D