What is the £18m from Tesco for?
Last updated 21:26, Thursday, 27 March 2008
THE COUNCILLORS at Workington do not have a good history of saving the history of the place. Note the loss of the wonderful Art Deco Ritz.
They have always knocked down and rebuilt and then knocked down and rebuilt getting worse by the year.
So what did the people expect from an offer from Tesco for £18 million? No doubt eyes in the council chambers were shining at the thought of the money. So they have sold the Cloffocks and taken their 30 pieces of silver but what have they lost?
They think that this will bring people to the town centre. What planet are they on? There won't be a town centre worth coming to.
When are they going to wake up and realise that people's money isn't a piece of elastic? If you spend at Tesco there isn't anymore for other shops. It is gone.
And Tesco is greedy. They are not content to sell groceries. You can get your lottery ticket, stamps, clothes, insurance, a television.
It offers easy parking and all in one place, so why bother trailing somewhere else where you are likely to get a parking ticket?
Councillors pass the plans for out of town shops and then are puzzled when a town centre is dying. Open Dunmail and how can dress shops in the smaller towns survive?
It doesn't take a brilliant leap to see that people simply don't have the money for both. It simply doesn't make sense.
Already one large Tesco and oh, let's build a bigger one on land people want for an historic activity. Now what are they going to do with their £18 million?
Don't bother spending it on a town centre as the large out of town shops will have all the people's money. Don't restore historic buildings and cobbled areas as they have no history of appreciating it.
Certainly don't listen to the people who voted for you, just do your own thing and ignore why you were voted in and who voted for you. It will be interesting to see where the £18 million is spent.
Watch this space as there is none left for ancient activities and no point in small private shops.
P
