Tesco's existing store and proposals

Tesco already has a store over the side boundary of our home. The store was built on the site of beautiful woodland. Tesco has now acquired the land behind our home, which was previously another small store.   The land Tesco has acquired fronts the main shopping street. It has submitted plans for a massive A1 superstore. Our home had a wooded area to the side. All of it that is left is a row of trees on our rear boundary, which divide the two Tesco sites. Tesco wants to remove the trees, which stand at the entrance to the proposed new store.

The proposed new store would cause us and other residents further disruption to our lives. Tesco's application is to build a massive super store over our rear boundary within feet of our home.  The store would be higher than our home, open seven days of the week and the main entrance would be in direct line with our main living rooms, bedroom and bathroom.  Our home and every single day would be dominated by the store which would overshadow our home.

We have had to live with the continual noise nuisance from their existing store, which have made our life unbearable. By placing  the store  even closer to our home which is in a private residential area,  the noise nuisance and the pollution would be greater!

We are also desperate to keep the remaining trees. These have given us and other residents visual beauty, screening, and amenity value to the town. They have been there for hundreds of years and all have tree preservation orders on them.  They are home to many birds and bats and other wildlife frequent them. 

We are a small market town, but by placing the store in the position they want, it takes the store right out of the market place and tucks it on to the boundary of private homes.  The only way anyone could access or leave the store is by entering through the car park of their existing store, which would be knocked down. Currently, there are some nice market town shops. We are concerned that  shoppers will do all there shopping in Tesco and not leave the store to use the other shops that we have. There is no easy point for pedestrians to leave the store. Tesco says they it may buy one of the small shops on the main street and knock it down to make way for a pedestrian access.

Campaign against the plans

I have begun fighting the plans and lobbying interested parties. Beverley Friends of the Earth, English Nature, Campaign for Rural England and the local Bat Group are opposed to the plan in this form. I have spoken out against Tesco at the Town Council meeting  and written to the press. Tesco has released statements to the press denying and rubbishing what I had said, and says it has done everything possible to help the residents.  They forget that we see and hear all of their existing noise nuisances and have complained to Public Protection dozens of times.

Beverley Friends of the Earth have worked with me and supported me. They have started to make people aware of the issues by being present in Driffield during the Market Day.

We are pressing residents to write a letter of objection to the Local Authority Planning Department, at County Hall, Beverley.

Last week Tesco released a statement to the local newspaper that coincided with yet another planning application which we had just received notice of from the Local Authority planning department. In this application, the huge servicing and delivery area would now be located directly over our rear boundary, within feet of our home. Our house already shakes with the vibrations from the existing site. The noise and pollution would now be unbearable.

We feel that the new plans are meant to pressurise us into choosing the first plan. But we feel that neither plan is acceptable.We don't feel that Tesco should be allowed to build such a large store, when it already has one that is adequate.  It should not dominate private homes.

Tesco's statement went on to say that in having to submit a second planning application it has cost an additional £15,325. This is just after they have announced profits of £2.5 billion!

To see comments I have submitted to the newspper and Tesco's comments on the application, please see the Driffield Post and Driffield Times website at www.driffieldtoday.co.uk.