BRIEF OUTLINE OF TESCO DEVELOPMENT
New plans were displayed in the centre of ST Mary showing controversial plans to build a new Tesco supermarket on the site of White house primary school. There were mixed views thought out the residents of Hailsham. The new store standing on the site of White House will cover 4,303 square metres in total, fronting on North Street. It will be one and a half times the size of Waitrose and will be the same height as the Grenadier Pub. It will have extensive glazing and brick panelling to the front of the store with room for murals depicting the history of Hailsham. There will be a covered canopy to the front of the café over the public seating area and a landscaped open. The entrance is off North Street directly in front of puffin crossing. The store will have 320 car parking spaces which won’t be restricted to Tesco customers. The focus will be very much on working with the local community. Tesco will provide 270 new jobs and offer flexible working hours, training and career development and support education through computers for schools. Christopher Borkowski is hopeful the new store will be open in the spring of 2005. Although planning approvals for a new supermarket in North Street, Hailsham have yet to be sought or considered there has been some interesting progress on the question of land ownership.
Wealden District Council’s Resources Committee has agreed for further negotiations to take place which would allow the proposed Tesco Store to be built on land in its ownership at the North Road car park and next to the playing field.
To date, discussions with the developers St James’s Investments have been made difficult because the proposed supermarket would also require the land currently occupied by the White House School. The future of the school needed to be agreed before meaningful discussions regarding the District Council’s land could be undertaken.
Now it has been agreed in theory that a new school could be built behind the Seaforth Farm Surgery, the way is open to try to agree realistic terms for the sale of the North Road car park site and playing field (which is owned by Wealden but leased to the County Council).
In conducting negotiations the District Council has a legal duty to obtain the best price possible for its land. This would have proved difficult if all the costs involved in relocating the school had consumed the bulk of the developer’s budget available for land acquisition overall. In these circumstances, the District Council might have been asked to accept less than open market value for its land.
The Resources Committee thinks it has found a way of unlocking this dilemma. Committee Chairman, Councillor David Logan said: "We agree that a well-planned Tesco supermarket development could bring many benefits to Hailsham. My Committee has agreed to further negotiations on the sale of District Council land on the basis that best value is obtained. If the overall cost of the White House School relocation means that the developer is unable to offer this Council the open market value for its land, then the Council will require any shortfall in value to be made up by the County Council by the gifting of land of an equivalent value elsewhere in the District."
This formula will allow both Councils to obtain best value for its land whilst allowing a significant investment to be made in the town. The planning aspects of the proposed development will require to be quite separately assessed.
ISSUES RAISED BY THE DEVELOPMENT
COSTS
1. COMMUNITY
For the community and more specifically for the Whitehouse pupils there are few advantages and disadvantages.
Whitehouse Pupils
- Students may start to feel unsettled being moved schools in their final year the move from one to another could be disrupted to their primary school education.
- The move from White House, a small class of between 25 to 35 children with a friendly close atmosphere. To a larger school the children could face problems fitting in.
- Over the last decade Marshlands has had a poor educational record moving the new school close could have a disrupted influence over the school.
- The students may now find they have further to travel to and from school and the journey could be more dangerous due to traffic.
BENEFITS
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There will now be new facilities available to the students.
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The school being closer to the Leisure Centre can now more use of the facilities.
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The new state of the art school may attract some the best teachers.
COSTS
Whitehouse Parents
- The school could be further to travel.
Shoppers
- The new development of Tesco could cause possible of other shops to close leaving less choice for other shoppers.
Benefits
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The Tesco will have available One stop shopping, wider range of goods, cheaper prices and 24/7 shopping.
Costs
Residents
- With the new Tesco will come increase noise, traffic, and visual pollution
- They are chances of reduction in property
2. ENVIRONMENT
Noise Pollution
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There will be an increased in traffic, refrigeration units.
- With the car park with come skateboarding and youths cruising in their cars.
Visual Pollution
- The look of building may not look as the planners wanted it may become an eye sore.
- If the smaller shops close due to Tesco there will be more visual pollution of boarded up sites. Also increased shoppers more crowded and night delivery.
Traffic pollution
BENEFITS
- A Tesco in Hailsham will cause less car travel by car to Eastbourne
Litter Pollution
COSTS
- There will be packaging material and litter from shoppers
BENEFITS
- More people will commit to recycling
3. EMPLOYEES
Effect on employment in Hailsham
COSTS
- There will be a possible loss of jobs if other shops close
- Because Tesco will be open 24 hours a day there will be more jobs in unsociable hours and that could cause strain on family life
BENEFITS
- There will be more jobs available when Tesco gets built so a possible increase in overall employment is expected
- Employees will be able to see a increase in career jobs
- Also a increase in part-time employment
4. COMPETITORS
Effects on shops in Hailsham
COSTS
- The smaller shops in Town may not be able to compete on range and price compared to Tesco
BENEFITS
- Opportunities will a rise for specialised shops
Effects on other supermarkets
COSTS
- Other supermarkets close to the new Tesco site like the Co-op and Waitrose may lose trade to the extent that one existing supermarket closes
5. SHAREHOLDERS
Profitability
COSTS
- The whole cost of set up may reduce profits in short term
- The rivalry between the leading supermarkets may start price war causing reduced profit
BENEFITS
- Increased profitability, therefore increased dividends in the long term
6. LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Income
COSTS
- There will be a loss of UBR if shops close
BENEFITS
- There will be an income from scale of land
Economic Development
BENEFITS
- The UBR income from Tesco may encourage more larger shops into Hailsham
- Tesco is paying for the new development of the new school and money will be save available for other projects
