Season’s greetings to all our supporters
Tesco have submitted plans to move into Mill Road, Cambridge, one of Cambridge’s most cosmopolitan areas. The No Mill Road Tesco Campaign was been set up to oppose these plans. So far, a huge number of objections to these plans have been submitted to the City Council, and over 5,000 people signed our on-street petition.
Please join our announcements mailing list to receive updates about the campaign.
(You will not be bombarded with messages/spam!)
Read our objections to the planning applications and related documents.
Read why you should support our efforts to keep Tesco off Mill Road…
Mill Road Winter Fair
Thanks to all who helped or attended our stall at the Mill Road Winter Fair.
As darkness descended, we projected news about the Campaign onto the Wilco site.
Key rings!
New No Mill Road Tesco Campaign keyrings are now on sale for £1.50.
Call in at Libra Aries Books on Mill Road to get yours.
Mill Road Winter Fair stall
The NMRT campaign is having a stall on the Mill Road Winter Fair this Saturday 6th December and is seeking helpers to staff the stand for an hour or two. This would involve handing out leaflets giving the current status of the Campaign and other information, getting people the opportunity to sign up to the mailing list (if they are not already on it) and selling the new NMRT torch key rings (price £1.50 each).
Ideally we would like to have 3 or 4 people staffing the stall at any one time. The stall will be there from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm. At present there are committee members (one at a time) covering the whole day but they will need support. If you would like to volunteer to help for an hour or two, please contact us stating what time you would like to be on the stand.
Please do come along and say hello on the day, even if you do not want to help with the stall!
Information about the whole Winter fair can be found at:
http://www.mill-road.com/winterfair_timetable.aspx
CEN article: Tesco appeals dismissed over Mill Road store
TWO appeals by supermarket giant Tesco for permission to build an extension as part of plans to open a store in Cambridge’s Mill Road have been dismissed.
The company had wanted to build a single-storey extension at the back of the former Wilco store and install plant equipment.
The application was made along with proposals for a shop front, ATM and two signs.
But while Cambridge City Council approved two of Tesco’s planning applications, it rejected the proposed extension and installation of refrigeration equipment.
Tesco appealed against the refusal of planning permission. It also lodged an appeal on the grounds of non-determination.
A four-day hearing was held at the beginning of October and now planning inspector David Nicholson has dismissed both appeals.
He concluded the servicing options for the store would “pose unacceptable risks to highway safety”. Sonia Cooter, co-ordinator of the No Mill Road Tesco campaign, said: “We are very happy.
“The planning inspector quite comprehensively ruled out any safe delivery options. It’s up to Tesco now to decide whether they want to go any further.
“We are delighted that the planning inspector realised just how dangerous it would be to deliver to the site.”
Martin Lucas-Smith, co-ordinator of Cambridge Cycling Campaign, who gave evidence at the public inquiry, said: “Cambridge Cycling Campaign is delighted to hear that Tesco’s ridiculous proposals for deliveries directly from Mill Road or by sending large lorries down the narrow streets of Romsey have been comprehensively and unequivocally thrown out by the Government inspector.
“We objected to the plans and the Government inspector has accepted the evidence we put forward at the public inquiry that cyclists and indeed everyone else using Mill Road would be badly affected by Tesco’s delivery proposals.
“We hope now that Tesco will stop wasting taxpayers’ money and everyone’s time, and withdraw their second appeal, in which exactly the same issues apply.”
A statement released by Tesco read: “We are obviously extremely disappointed by this decision. We will be considering the report and looking at our options.
“However, we still remain committed to Mill Road and think that a Tesco Express will add to the vibrancy of the area. We now await the Inquiry date for air conditioning and refrigeration plant.”
TESCO LOSE PLANNING APPEAL
Breaking news: Tesco have LOST their first appeal (and the associated non-determination appeal) for the Mill Road site.
The Inspector concluded:
“I find that both of the realistically available servicing options would pose unacceptable risks to highway safety, which would not be outweighed by benefits or the fallback position. I therefore conclude that both appeals should be dismissed.”
Read the full Appeal decision letter from the Government Inspector.
It remains to be seen if Tesco will pursue their second appeal (for an application to instal plant with no extension).
For now, though, we would like to thank everyone who has made this possible. Thank you if you came on the march, wrote letters of objection, emailed your councillors, formed part of our human lorry, trudged around delivering leaflets and posters or just spoke to people about Tesco’s plans. This campaign has been a huge community effort and everyone’s contribution has been vital.
Have a look at the new counter on the right-hand side of this page to see how many days we as a community have so far managed to keep Tesco off Mill Road!
Tesco’s second appeal
As you may know, Tesco has appealed against the Council’s decision in July to refuse their application for air conditioning and refrigeration plant. This is (technically) unconnected to the previous appeal against the council’s March 2007 rejection of the extension and air conditioning and refrigeration plant (the one heard at the public inquiry a month ago), so the outcome of this appeal won’t depend in any way on the outcome of the previous appeal.
This means that there will be a second public inquiry, which will be held at some point in 2009. As with the inquiry into the original application, we have all been invited to give our written comments to the planning inspector. The deadline for comments is 11 November (Tuesday of next week).
Some suggested grounds for objection to the application in July can be found at:
http://www.nomillroadtesco.org/planning-applications/june-2008-application/
Since this is the application that is now being appealed, these objections still stand. It is worth noting that at the last public inquiry (into the application for an extension and air conditioning and refrigeration plant) Tesco confirmed that a store would not be viable unless they could use 10.35 metre lorries to make some of their daily deliveries. This means that if this application for plant is approved then Tesco will definitely use these large vehicles.
Tesco will try to argue that this is just a bit of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment so that issues such as deliveries, parking, and waste and other storage issues are irrelevant. It would be a good idea to mention in your letter (and in your own words) that:
The refrigeration and air conditioning plant is necessary for Tesco to open a store on this site, so any issue relating to the impact of the proposed store on neighbouring homes or on traffic congestion and road safety is directly relevant to the application. This is because approving the application would cause these effects by allowing the store to open. If the store cannot open, these effects will not occur. As a result, they should be considered as part of this appeal.
Please remember that it is not likely to be the same planning inspector as last time, so they will not be familiar with the case or the campaign. That means we need to explain, all over again, what the problems are with a Tesco store on this site (delivery impacts on road safety and traffic congestion in particular).
You can submit comments online at:
http://www.pcs.planningportal.gov.uk/pcsportal/makerep.asp?caseaddress=COO.2036.300.8.309744
or send 3 hard copies of your objections to:
The Planning Inspectorate,
3/16 Eagle Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol BS1 6PN
The Planning Reference for this appeal is 08/0794/FUL
Land at 163-167 Mill Road, Cambridge
PI Ref - APP/Q0505/A/08/2085159/NWF
(Please be aware that if you submit your comments through the planning portal, any personal information you include (such as contact details) will be visible to anyone who choses to read your objection online.)
Next steps
The inspector’s report should come out at the end of November. We will report when we have more information.
Tesco also have a second appeal pending. Again, we will report when we have more information.
Thank you for your support.
CEN article: Anxious wait as Tesco appeal hearing closes
rachel.extance@cambridge-news.co.uk
The former Wilco site where Tesco wants to move in.
OPPONENTS of Tesco’s plans for a branch in Mill Road, Cambridge, are anxiously waiting for a decision on a planning appeal which has closed after four days of evidence.
The appeal, heard at The Guildhall, finished yesterday following a site visit to the former Wilco store.
Now David Howarth, Cambridge’s MP, is calling for planning rules to be changed so councils can keep supermarkets out of areas dominated by independent shops.
He spoke out as Tesco waits to hear if its appeal to build an extension and install plant equipment at a shop in Mill Road, which will allow it to open an Express store, has been successful.
Mr Howarth sat in on day three of the appeal in front of inspector David Nicholson.
One of the issues Mr Nicholson quizzed the council’s witnesses on was whether its approach would have been different if the shop’s previous owners Wilco had made the application.
Despite widespread concern at the supermarket giant’s decision to move into Mill Road, a desire to maintain the street’s independent image is not a planning consideration and Mr Howarth believes it should be.
He is backing local councillors Nichola Harrison and Kilian Bourke’s efforts to have Mill Road designated an Independent Business Zone and would like to see the Retail Development Bill, which has been going through the House of Lords, to become law.
This would divide shops into three classes and allow councils to keep larger stores out of an area if they want to.
Mr Howarth told the News: “The law should be changed so that it’s clear local authorities have the power to shape their own areas.
“It should be possible for a council to choose to make a particular shopping street a zone for independent shops and businesses. If they want to promote national chains, big supermarkets, they can do that. If they want a mix they would be allowed to that.
“Very rarely is the identity of the person holding that permission relevant. One of the things this bill does is it has three different kinds of shops.
“What Cambridge City Council wants to be able to do is distinguish between independent businesses where the money is going to stay in the community more and national and international businesses.”
The city council rejected Tesco’s plans, saying they would pose a risk to public safety and did not provide sufficient parking spaces.
Tesco dispute this and say there is sufficient on-street car parking in the area and the store would benefit residents by meeting convenience shopping needs, increase footfall in the area and bring an empty shop back into use.
A decision is expected in November.
CEN article: Weight ban ‘of no use’
TESCO has told a planning inspector its Mill Road store will be useless if large lorries are banned from making deliveries.
One of the reasons Cambridge City Council rejected the supermarket’s application for a single-story extension and installation of plant equipment at the former Wilco site was that the only way of servicing the store using 10.3 metre-long rigid axle vehicles was via Mill Road, putting public safety at risk and holding up traffic.
Planning inspector David Nicholson asked Rupert Lyons, director of Pinnacle Transportation Limited, appearing for Tesco, whether the store could operate without those vehicles.
He said: “If, for example, I were to apply a condition to a permission that said no vehicles above the size of, say, a transit van, could deliver, would that permission be worth anything to you?”
Mr Lyons replied: “I don’t believe so, no sir.”
There are three options for deliveries: stopping on Mill Road; driving around a loop of Catharine Street and Sedgwick Street, or vehicles being allowed to access Sedgwick Street from Mill Road, which would require a change to traffic rules.
The inquiry heard Cambridgeshire County Council is unlikely to grant a traffic regulation order to allow access to the rear yard from Mill Road, although Tesco is willing to pay for the move if the highway authority changes its mind.
Asked how he would service the Tesco Express, Mr Lyons said the “pragmatic approach” would be for deliveries of newspapers, mail and milk to be made from Mill Road before 8.15am and the larger deliveries made to the back of the store.
In the afternoon, Tesco’s second witness Matthew Roe, director of planning at CgMs Ltd, gave evidence.
He said Tesco’s plans would provide “a valuable facility to local residents and workers by meeting convenience shopping needs”.
He said the proposed extension would have a “positive impact” on Mill Road and increase footfall as well as bringing a vacant unit back into use.
The planning appeal concludes today.
