Please Read if you care about West Bridgford's identity - Local News Letters

[Fran Tristram]

Hi all

I hope you'll forgive me block mailing like this, but I was very concerned to read the following letter in the West Bridgford issue of the Local News (the black and white one).  I will copy the text of the letter below - to my eye this letter has all the hallmarks of a set-up job, but it may be that I'm in a minority in valuing West Bridgford's remaining independent shops?  

Here is the letter which was posted on 13th September and went under the heading: AVENUE NEEDS A SUPERMARKET

I am surprised there is no supermarket on Central Avenue. I know M&S is close by and Co-Op by the library but surely it would make sense for a Tesco Express to take up residence in West Bridgford.
They seem to be popping up everywhere else in Nottingham and beyond and obviously do a roaring trade. I am sure one on Central Avenue would do excellent trade throughout the day and evening.
The choice of shops on the Avenue is much more limited these days and I tend not to shop there so much to be honest. It has certainly gone one way and that’s expensive cafes on one side and charity shops on the other. Where are the interesting shops for your average shopper? I do most shopping in town now and go to a major supermarket for my groceries.
John.

Given that there is a Co-op, M&S and Iceland, I really don't share the writer's view that there is 'no supermarket on Central Avenue'.  

I do however agree with the writer that Tesco Express does seem to be popping up everywhere else in Nottingham - they are so mind-numbingly ubiquitous that I am completely bemused by the suggestion that they might possibly be considered an 'interesting shop for your average shopper'!  

One of the real pleasures of shopping in West Bridgford - and one of the reasons people travel to West Bridgford to shop from many other areas of Nottingham - is that we are fortunate still to have a large number of independent shops who sell everything you could possibly need at good prices and high quality.  

Our independents have been increasingly under pressure since M&S and other big names arrived in West Bridgford - I expected that they would lose trade to the giants, but it seems that there are still plenty of discerning customers who appreciate the value and quality of the likes of The Fruit Basket, No 8 deli, Paolo's fishmonger, Arnold's butchers, the Tall Frog, the Health Store, The Salad Bowl, Canterbury's deli, Singh's Chemist. Belle & Jerome ... and the many other wonderful independent local traders who give West Bridgford that special personal touch.  But the cause of the pressure is harder for those of us on the street to perceive: since the increase in the presence of the big chains (relative newcomers include M&S, Cafe Nero, Pizza Express etc) commercial rents have jumped and as a consequence we have indeed lost some traders.  

In the current economic climate, people are understandably spending less, but very often they think that by going to the big-name supermarkets they'll find 'better value'.  In my experience the big supermarkets provide a few headline mega-bargains to tempt people in, but many of their products are far inferior in both quality and value when compared with our local shops.  

The range of supermarkets already established in central West Bridgford caters amply for their sector of customer demand and I certainly recognise that they have a role to play, but to increase the supermarket presence with a Tesco Express or equivalent would add nothing to West Bridgford and subtract much in the way of character and trade - particularly hitting the existing small convenience stores which do the same job.  Profits from local independents stay in our local economy.  The mega-players generally talk a good talk in advance about what they'll put into the local community to oil the wheels and get their applications accepted, but their financial interests are focused far from the locality and any 'benefits' are those which fit their brand, not about local needs. 

If you have feelings on this question, do add your voice by emailing your letter to the Local News at http://www.nottinghamlocalnews.com/2011/09/avenue-needs-supermarket/

If you want to know more about West Bridgford's local independent stores, the West Bridgford pages of the Totally Locally website will launch on 1st October - tell your favourite local independent traders throughout West Bridgford to get a presence on the website - it's free and it's aim is to celebrate the character and quality brought to local areas by their independents - as they say on their site: "If every adult in West Bridgford spent just £5 per week extra in our local shops & businesses (instead of on line or at the big supermarkets) it would mean an extra £9.3 million a year going into our local economy! Which means more jobs, a better town and a nicer place for us all to live. Makes you think doesn’t it?

I hope that you will forgive this email - you are on my mailing list because you have expressed an interest in our arts activities in the past and it is rare for me to send out non-art-related information, but we do from time to time include information on very locally focused issues.  If you would prefer only to receive arts-related information, please let me know.  Also do let me know if you would prefer to be removed from our list.

Very best wishes

Fran and Rod

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