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Jo SwinsonLib Dem MP for East Dunbartonshire |
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Tesco must go back to the drawing board - Jo
April 19, 2010 9:49 AM
Jo has urged Tesco not to appeal the Council's decision to reject its application to expand its Milngavie store.
In a letter to the supermarket chain, Jo has said that if Tesco still wishes to redevelop the store, it should come up with a new application which is more in line with the community's needs.
Commenting, Jo said:
"Tesco's application was rejected by the planning board because there were concerns about the size of the store being proposed, its appearance and its environmental impact. Tesco may be planning to appeal against the decision, but I am urging them to take seriously the concerns of local people, or they risk facing even greater opposition.
"People in Milngavie are not totally opposed to the store being redeveloped, but the proposals put forward were not right for Milngavie. If Tesco still wants to modernise the store, it should listen to what the community has said and come up with a new application which is in line with local people's wishes."
The text of Jo's letter to Tesco appears below:
Jennifer Duncan
Tesco Stores Ltd
Tesco House
Delamare Road
Cheshunt
Waltham Cross
EN8 9ZB
16 April 2010
Tesco Milngavie, application no. TP/ED/09/0638
You will be aware that East Dunbartonshire Council's planning board this week rejected Tesco's application to expand its Milngavie store. I appreciate that you will be disappointed by this decision, however Councillors were responding to the legitimate concerns of local people, which I outlined for you in my letter of 21st December 2009 with which I enclosed the results of my survey of Milngavie residents.
Having seen the survey results, you will be aware that the people of Milngavie are not opposed to the modernisation of the Tesco store in Milngavie. Indeed, many people expressed the view that redevelopment may be necessary, however they were, by and large, opposed to the idea of expanding the store on the scale that you envisaged in your planning application.
You may be considering appealing against the decision to reject your application. If you are still looking to refresh the store in Milngavie, I would strongly urge you to consider revising your application based on the clearly expressed views of Milngavie residents. Appealing the decision of the planning board may well only raise further opposition among local people - opposition which could easily be avoided if Tesco were to carefully review the responses of the community to the original application and undertake genuine consultation with the community. This could result in a revised plan which is more in line with what Milngavie residents want.
I hope that in making your decision as to how to proceed, you will take these points into account.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter and please do not hesitate to contact me should you which to discuss it further.
Yours sincerely,
Jo Swinson
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