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Shop plan should have been challenged
[editor's title] I must take issue with Cllr Tancred’s defeatist attitude towards the opening of a new Sainsbury’s on Salusbury Road (‘This new Sainsbury’s could kill our trade’, Times, Nov 6). Local traders and residents have expressed justified concern about the negative impact the supermarket would have on their livelihoods and the individuality of the area. The Green Party advocates locally-sourced seasonal produce over highly packaged non-seasonal foods brought in from afar. We do not wish to see big business take custom away from the popular Queens Park farmers’ market either. But Cllr Tancred tells your reporter, “We couldn’t say no to Sainsbury’s because it was a shop before in the past. Sainsbury’s would have just appealed and won. It was really impossible to stop it from a planning perspective.” To the contrary, “Yes We Can!” Planning issues are often controversial, true, but one does not go into democratic politics to avoid confrontation of any sort. Cllr Tancred surely does her electors no favours by conceding so much ground to Sainsbury’s. It is one thing to anticipate that an appeal would be won; it is quite another to admit defeat before the issue has been forced. Moreover, an existing Sainsbury’s in Willesden has met with fierce opposition with their plan for a service road (previously reported in ‘Supermarket plans dubbed a nightmare’, Times, Oct 30). Similar traffic problems could be anticipated for the Queens Park proposal; therefore, it is hardly “impossible” to object on planning grounds. Finally, I am saddened to report that the organic grocers in Harlesden Road, Willesden has just gone under. This is exactly the sort of green industry that local and national government should do their utmost to support through grants, tax breaks and political recognition. The Green Party understands that the economic crisis cannot be solved with sticking plaster but will require joined-up radical reform. Credit-fuelled consumption, such as that inspired by the new Westfield, simply damages the planet further and faster. Shahrar Ali Spokesperson for Environment and Planning Brent Green Party |
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