Furious Burnham-On-Sea town councillors lashed out at Tesco on Monday night (May 8th) after it emerged that the supermarket intends to spend £260,000 on launching a new bus service for shoppers instead of completing the Frank Foley Parkway, as previously promised.
As the public inquiry into Tesco’s proposed expansion got underway on Tuesday (May 9th), councillors reacted with dismay to the sudden change of plan by the store.
In a statement issued on Monday evening, Burnham-On-Sea Mayor Eric Gill lashed out at the “arrogant and deceitful disregard to the wishes of the people of Burnham” after the supermarket confirmed at the 11th hour that it would be switching funding from the extension of the nearby road to its new bus service.
The Town Council has employed local solicitor Tony Mason to represent it at this week’s public inquiry, which began in Burnham’s Princess Hall on Tuesday.
“It would appear that recommendations for the approval of this expansion, supported by the Town Council on March 3rd last year – which were influenced by a petition signed by some 7,000 people and also the promise of planning gains which would lead to the completion of the Frank Foley Parkway – have now been drastically revised,” added town council clerk Eileen Shaw.
“It would seem that instead of using the £260,000 promised by Tesco towards the completion of the Frank Foley Parkway – of which less than a third remains incomplete – these funds are to be diverted, at the suggestion of Somerset County Council and to some extent Sedgemoor District Council, to sustainable road transport projects, including the subsidy of a new bus route for five years.”
Members of the Town Council, in a special session on Monday evening, agreed to employ professional legal advice to question what appears to be a dramatic change in the standpoint of both Somerset County and Sedgemoor District Councils.
Cllr Neville Jones, a member of the local Planning Authority at SDC which voted in favour of the proposed extension of the Tesco store in the light of the promised planning gains, said: “It would appear that following the meeting of the Development Control Committee last year, further discussions have taken place between the consultant employed by Sedgemoor District Council and Transport Officers from the County Council during which the views of the Town Council appear to have been completely ignored.”
“To the best of my knowledge, this has never been taken back to the Development Control Committee at Sedgemoor District Council, and I find this quite deceitful.”
“Other recommendations by the Town Council’s planning committee regarding the extent to which the sale of comparison goods, in particular heavy electrical goods to give traders in Burnham a chance of life should be restricted also appear to have been ignored.”
“We are constantly told by Somerset County Council and Sedgemoor District Council how highly they regard consultation. Consultation in itself is a wonderful thing, but failure to act on the results of such consultation makes it futile.”
RELATED LINKS:
Tesco expansion inquiry set to begin on May 9th
Seven month delay for inquiry ‘astonishes’ Burnham council leader
Tesco’s expansion put on hold as inquiry begins
Tesco gets the go-ahead to expand Burnham store
