When a supermarket arrives in town, a proportion
of the local shops in direct competition
will close down – this not only includes
small independent retailers but also the
high street multiples such as Boots, Argos
and Dixons. This disappearance of other retailers
not only changes the face of the high street
and erodes choice, but it impacts on the
local economy.
Very little of the wealth generated by the
supermarkets stays within the local economy.
What stays is essentially the wages, although
according to the New Economics Foundation,
Tesco's payroll makes up just 7% of its
total turnover. Supermarkets are vacuum cleaners
sucking money out of the community to corporate
head offices and to shareholders around the world.
While small independent shops often stock
local products, despite supermarket claims,
much of what is sold in supermarkets is not
local. Their centralised distribution systems
mean that ‘local’ products may
be transported hundreds of miles to depots
and then back to local superstores. Yet one
of the best ways of keeping money in the
local economy is through sourcing local produce.
A study by the New Economics Foundation found
that one pound spent in a local shop selling
local produce puts twice as much money back
into the local economy as one pound spent
in a supermarket.
Local businesses tend to support the local
economy by returning money to it by using
local suppliers (builders, plumbers etc )
and services (accountants, solicitors etc).
For example, while a local shop may be refitted
by a local carpenter, a supermarket will
be refitted by a big contractor who is employed
nationally to refit all of the supermarket’s
stores. Money circulating around the local
economy keeps everyone buoyant.
However the ramifications of supermarket
development go beyond the town and can have
a negative effect on the rural economy in
the surrounding area. Research by the former
DETR and the Environment, Transport and Regional
Affairs Committee found that new out-of-centre
and edge of centre supermarkets have a serious
adverse impact on existing independent shops
in surrounding villages and town centres,
resulting in their decline and sometimes
their closure.
We need a new Road!
We say:
That's not what Derbyshire County Council's
Highways Department say! Edge-of-town supermarkets not only divert
shoppers from the high street but also lead
to a massive dependence on car transport
for shopping, restricting access to the elderly
and those without cars. Three quarters of
supermarket customers travel by car and when
new stores open they generate more traffic.
Roughly one in ten car journeys are to buy
food, 26 and it is estimated that CO2 emissions
generated by shopper miles equal those generated
by food freight within the UK.
Instead of generating new trade to town centre,
it is likely that the increased congestion
from cars and delivery lorries actually put
shoppers off coming into the town centre
altogether. In a recently rejected application
in Unthank, Norfolk, it was the threat of
congestion and accidents that swayed the
council against the Tesco store.
There's nothing we can do! Tesco always
win!
We say:
Supermarkets plan their 'campaigns'
well in advance - purchasing sites in prime
locations, approaching council officials
and doing deals, and running well-orchestrated
media campaigns in the local press. Only
once the site is secured and agreements have
been made with planning officials (often
involving the purchase of council land),
will planning be sought.
The big supermarkets also have the resources
to play a very long game to get what they
want. Tesco fought for 8 years, against a
determined local campaign, in order to win
approval for its development in Sheringham,
Norfolk. The Sheringham campaign has won,
however! In the face of growing local opposition
wherever they want to open, TESCO DON’T ALWAYS WIN!
