UPDATED: Tesco Northgate application now online (From This is The West Country)
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UPDATED: Tesco Northgate application now online
10:50am Friday 2nd November 2012 in News By Matthew Colledge
An artist's impression of the new store.
TESCO says Bridgwater town centre will be around £30million better off each year if its giant Extra supermarket goes ahead.
That is one of the stand-out claims in a mammoth planning application for its Northgate store, which is finally available for the public to see.
It is based on the predicted revenue of the Tesco Extra and seven other commercial units planned for Northgate, and studies about the current spending patterns of people in Sedgemoor.
Although Tesco would be the biggest recipient of that cash, it says other traders in the town centre would benefit.
Tesco estimates at least 60% of the 1.21million shoppers expected to visit its store will go on to visit the town centre.
The store would create 260 jobs, most of them part time.
The planning documents also reveal the Northgate supermarket would become the first “regeneration partnership store” in the south-west, meaning a third of the jobs will be given to the long-term unemployed.
The documents also show that another 120 jobs will be created at the seven commercial units and one office unit.
Those units would be lined up, north to south, in the area where the Splash used to be.
The supermarket would be in the centre of the site, in between Anson Way and the old magistrates’ court, using part of Brewery Field.
The car park would be on the eastern edge, by the Northgate/Clink junction, and would replace several buildings owned by Somerset County Council which would be demolished.
Comments(38)
Only me 123!
says...
5:10pm Thu 1 Nov 12
the voice of common sense
says...
5:24pm Thu 1 Nov 12
The Central Scrutinizer
says...
5:28pm Thu 1 Nov 12
sceptic_steve
says...
6:09pm Thu 1 Nov 12
Hon S Troof
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8:28pm Thu 1 Nov 12
Hinkley Point, proven to have killed dozens of people is ignored.
Wonder where the Mercury's loyalties lie!
Not with local people I think.
scally666
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8:50pm Thu 1 Nov 12
Anonymous Me
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9:09am Fri 2 Nov 12
Hon S Troof wrote:How will this cost hundreds of jobs in the Town centre?
This development will costs Bridgwater Town Centre hundreds of jobs but is given top billing in this news section.
Hinkley Point, proven to have killed dozens of people is ignored.
Wonder where the Mercury's loyalties lie!
Not with local people I think.
If EVERY shop shut it's doors I doubt it would total hundreds, I can't imagine Tesco's competing with Estate Agents, Sports Direct, mobile phone shops and charity shops, as that's what's mainly on offer in the town centre.
Every time a shop is left empty for a long period all that happens is that it gets divided into even smaller units, thinking here of the old Post Office & M&S sites. All the units are too small for any major retailer to consider, so how can making it even smaller help?
The simple answer is that the rental on two small units is higher than the income from one larger one.
Same applies to new builds, that's why we only have 2 beds crammed together or they build 3-4 beds on the same plot of land but build upwards and put a house on top of garages, cheap returns.
Only me 123!
says...
11:43am Fri 2 Nov 12
Hon S Troof wrote:I wondered just how long it would be before some sado linked the building of a new supermarket with the building of Hinkley C and the deaths of dozens, no hundreds, no thousands of people,you might be surprised to discover just what local people think if you bothered to ask rather than assume everyone agrees with your views I THINK.
This development will costs Bridgwater Town Centre hundreds of jobs but is given top billing in this news section.
Hinkley Point, proven to have killed dozens of people is ignored.
Wonder where the Mercury's loyalties lie!
Not with local people I think.
artful280
says...
12:41pm Fri 2 Nov 12
swjoduk
says...
12:45pm Fri 2 Nov 12
artful280
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1:08pm Fri 2 Nov 12
swjoduk wrote:I do. At the moment there are 313 parking spaces available for you too park longer than 4 hours. In the Tesco proposals, they are going to increase the the overall number of spaces but the majority will be for a maximum of 3 hours with private enforcement to make sure that you dont stay any longer. The total number of Long stay (over 4 hours) will be reduced to 156 or 163, depending which page you read.
In this reduction do you include the parking available in the undercroft on the store??
swjoduk
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1:36pm Fri 2 Nov 12
There really isn't enough shops within Bridgwater to warrant parking 4 hours or more anyway.
I don't even park for more than 2-3hours when I go shopping in Taunton and that often includes stopping for a bite to eat somewhere.
swjoduk
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1:40pm Fri 2 Nov 12
If you rent/buy a house with no driveway, allocated parking or residents parking you cannot assume you will be able to park right outside your house all the time. If you do, you have rented/bought a house in the wrong location!
Only me 123!
says...
1:47pm Fri 2 Nov 12
swjoduk wrote:Well said.
and whats wrong with parking in streets, unless there is residents parking anyone has the right to park on a highway maintained at the public's expense as long as you follow the highway code i.e. not within 20m of a junction.
If you rent/buy a house with no driveway, allocated parking or residents parking you cannot assume you will be able to park right outside your house all the time. If you do, you have rented/bought a house in the wrong location!
artful280
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2:00pm Fri 2 Nov 12
swjoduk wrote:I live in Blacklands , which is right next door to the proposed development. The majority of my neighbours dont assume to want to park right outside their houses but in the same street would be nice. The majority of Commuters dont park sensibly taking up multiple spaces alot of the time with no consideration for the people who live there and when half the street in the day is taken up by commuters coming home after a night shift, or taking the kids to school becomes very very difficult. Residents parking is wanted by the residents but has been put off by sedgemoor for years and now parking has gone to somerset cc they will drag there heels.
and whats wrong with parking in streets, unless there is residents parking anyone has the right to park on a highway maintained at the public's expense as long as you follow the highway code i.e. not within 20m of a junction.
If you rent/buy a house with no driveway, allocated parking or residents parking you cannot assume you will be able to park right outside your house all the time. If you do, you have rented/bought a house in the wrong location!
When we bought our house 6 years ago it was much easier to park, there were very few problems, only at carnival and fair.but as Bridgwater has expanded the people who dont want to pay for parking has increased. The Manager of William Hill and the Manager of Lloyds Bank in town being two of them.
touchstone
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2:05pm Fri 2 Nov 12
swjoduk wrote:And there never will be enough shops if we stifle the demand by reducing the available parking places and the available parking time.
3 hours seems fine to me, maybe not for workers who park all day but if you live within Bridgwater why not cycle, walk or catch the bus.
There really isn't enough shops within Bridgwater to warrant parking 4 hours or more anyway.
I don't even park for more than 2-3hours when I go shopping in Taunton and that often includes stopping for a bite to eat somewhere.
notasnarrowmindedasmost
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6:56pm Fri 2 Nov 12
Hon S Troof wrote:How will this development cost the Town Centre hundreds of jobs exactly ? Hinkley proven to have killed dozens? ....How exactly ? Where is your legitimate evidence ? .....Come out of your cave and join in the 21st Century ..
This development will costs Bridgwater Town Centre hundreds of jobs but is given top billing in this news section.
Hinkley Point, proven to have killed dozens of people is ignored.
Wonder where the Mercury's loyalties lie!
Not with local people I think.
RustyKnight
says...
8:18pm Fri 2 Nov 12
Now Tesco's plans are revealed and the actual supermarket is NOT on the site of the Splosh!!
Bridgy old Boy
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10:42pm Fri 2 Nov 12
swjoduk
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11:51pm Fri 2 Nov 12
Bridgy old Boy wrote:Maybe not in terms of numbers but I believe the demand is there, if not now but in the future.
Please can the supporters of Tesco actually confirm that they feel that Bridgwater's has got a shortage of supermarkets? At the last count there was Sainsbury's; Morrisons; ASDA; The Co-op; Lidl; Aldi; Iceland; Budgens; Farm Foods plus various other large convenience shops. There is only so much trade to go around any trade Tesco's picks up will be lost at other supermarkets and the jobs will go with them. I would challenge any claim that two years down the line there will be a net gain in retail employees in Bridgwater.
Lets not forget that there has been no new large supermarkets since Asda was built but thousands of homes have been built at Stockmoor, Wilstock, Old Taunton Rd industrial estate, large areas off the BNDR and there are new homes going up at Gerbers and Kingsdown.
You only need to visit Sainsburys and Asda at peak times to find them jam packed and very difficult to find a parking space.
Like it or not Bridgwater is growing, with that comes a demand on essential services, which would include food stores!
grisleyreg
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11:00am Sat 3 Nov 12
Neither can I agree with the loss of Green Space in a town centre or the increased traffic on a road that regularly backs up the full length of Mount Street and over Penal Orlieu.
If anyone can actually show a need for another Supermarket (as opposed to Tesco profits) it may make interesting reading.
The site could be put to much better use for the citizens of the town rather than this monstrosity of a building which will bring little and lose a lot
grisleyreg
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11:03am Sat 3 Nov 12
NOT in the centre of Bridgwater
RustyKnight
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12:10pm Sat 3 Nov 12
Sedgemoor Labour
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7:51pm Sat 3 Nov 12
.com/site/bridgwater
westoverweb/no-to-te
sco/tescoplanningapp
licationfinallyregis
tered
scally666
says...
9:39pm Sat 3 Nov 12
Sedgemoor Labour wrote:labour fail linkl
https://sites.google
.com/site/bridgwater
westoverweb/no-to-te
sco/tescoplanningapp
licationfinallyregis
tered
http://www.sedgemoor
.gov.uk/planning%20o
nline/Details.aspx
scally666
says...
9:50pm Sat 3 Nov 12
Ka7e
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2:06pm Sun 4 Nov 12
swjoduk
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1:26pm Mon 5 Nov 12
grisleyreg wrote:I agree, the ideal place would be by J24 either where the empty depot/warehouses are or by the agriculutural centre or oppposite it.
Any additional Supermarkets should be near the centre of new population i.e Willstock NOT in the centre of Bridgwater
Trouble is traffic is already a nightmare at J24 in the summer due to the market and the services.
If people where visiting a large supermarket as well it would be caos.
Queues were back to the playing fields in North Petherton this summer due to congestion on the J24 roundabout
Fartypants
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4:16pm Mon 5 Nov 12
Blue Owl
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9:30am Wed 7 Nov 12
A Post Office Unit needs to be located on the Bridgwater HIGH STREET or FORE ST. If we ease the pressure now on Post Office Counters Plc with adding a possible future siting in the Tesco's unit, then all they will do is delay making a decision for another 2 years. A new Post Office Outlet is required NOW.
Regards Blue-Owl
cidreman
says...
8:46am Thu 8 Nov 12
But being a Babbler is not your fault and hopefully you can see the Light and look upon the letter G
Blue Owl
says...
9:59am Thu 8 Nov 12
Blue Owl wrote:Cidreman, Yes I did support the closure of the old unfit for purpose 'Splash Pool' as you with your cynical mind would not understand . It is sometimes necessary to make decisions for Long Term Benefit , rather than appease the few who were shouting loudest, ie. Cllr Smedley, The Labour Group on SDC and of coarse Bridgwater Backward, oops another slip of the keyboard tabs.
Interesting points of view given by previous contributors, with regard to a Post Office possibly taking up one of the New Retail Units proposed in the Tesco Site Plans, yes that would be a possibility if all else failed.
A Post Office Unit needs to be located on the Bridgwater HIGH STREET or FORE ST. If we ease the pressure now on Post Office Counters Plc with adding a possible future siting in the Tesco's unit, then all they will do is delay making a decision for another 2 years. A new Post Office Outlet is required NOW.
Regards Blue-Owl
The decision, we the Conservative Cllrs took ensured that Swimming would be available for many years to come, guaranteeing at least 20 Years.
That what I call the Right Decision.
Regards Blue-Owl
So Mote it Be
Blue Owl
says...
10:07am Thu 8 Nov 12
cidreman wrote:Cidreman. I'm surprised that you haven't stood for Political Office, as you have so much to say, and obviously love to criticise the honest effort that I applied in my time as an Elected Councillor.
Well said Blue-Owl ....Ex Cllr who supported the demolishing of the Bridgwater Splash ....and deprived the local Bridgwater children the chance of learning to swim .
But being a Babbler is not your fault and hopefully you can see the Light and look upon the letter G
Regards Blue- Owl
Ps. I forgot that previously in Forum Comments that you always knew best,it must be wonderful to be perfect.
cidreman
says...
10:42am Thu 8 Nov 12
Audi ,Vide ,Tace is the best advice I can give you ...
I can look upon the column I hope you do the same STOP BEING A Pique and show more Unity to fellow brothers on these forums ...look for the blue and white in everybody .
Blue Owl
says...
12:42pm Thu 8 Nov 12
cidreman wrote:Cidreman, perhaps if you took your own advise!!! I might respect you comments.
Blue -Owl I leave being perfect to you ..A Ex Cllr who supported a swimming Pool closure and Left Bridgwaters Children without a swimming Pool for over 3 years ...
Audi ,Vide ,Tace is the best advice I can give you ...
I can look upon the column I hope you do the same STOP BEING A Pique and show more Unity to fellow brothers on these forums ...look for the blue and white in everybody .
I am happy in the knowledge that the important decision with regard to ' Swimming Provision for the Future ' was the correct one, taking into account options before us. I stand by that decision.
It obviously gives you personally the greatest pleasure to try and denigrate me, so carry on Brother(w)
Regards Blue-Owl
Awaiting further pearls of Wisdom from you!!!!
cidreman
says...
2:05pm Thu 8 Nov 12
All I will say to you is Admonish & subue your ire and wrath
other brothers are on these forums ..forgetmenot
Only me 123!
says...
7:56pm Thu 8 Nov 12
The Central Scrutinizer says...
4:56pm Thu 1 Nov 12