To be honest Calm1, I don't think it would make a blind bit of difference whatever you say to those against Sainsbury's coming to HOP, even if it was to say that it would create 100 jobs and bring a thousand more people to the highstreet by foot a day they would still be against it. I went to the meeting and those against were very set in their ways, even when facts from surrounding areas were read out by Sainsbury's reps about it being a positive thing for neighbouring shops and the facts staring them in the face like having 8 empty units on the street already and having no where to buy fresh fruit veg and meat in close proximity are laid down in front of them. The amount of tuts and tsks that could be heard when Sainsbury's were talking or when something pro Sainsbury's was being said was deafening.

I must say it was a shame there was not more people in support of Sainsbury's coming who could have attended the meeting, bit of a poor show to be honest (especially after all the positive response it has received on this website), well done to those who did attend.

Fair enough the newsagent style shopkeepers (especially the honor oak supermarket people) being worried as no doubt Sainsbury's will be direct competition to them but I for one am not living my life making sure their shop survives, that's up to them. It's dog eat dog and if you're strong enough and supply things the public want they WILL survive. All this can only benefit the consumer.

I must say it did make me laugh a little when the biggest furore of the evening was around them not putting the building number 55 on the letter even though in the plans and all other documents it is clearly shown. Blimey it was like someone had commited the most heinous crime known to man the way they were all reacting over this oversight. I wonder who's fault that was, was it a council error I wonder?

Watch this space I guess, but I really do hope these plans are approved as our highstreet desperately needs something like this so we can all stop living in the dark ages

...and we can all buy a bit of fresh fruit veg and meat on our way home from the train station of an evening

This post was last modified: 23-04-2012 02:30 PM by Cheeky.