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Inside this Issue SUPERMARKET UPDATE LOCAL NOTICES HADLEIGH SOCIETY NEWS CONTACTS
Representations to Babergh We hope that you have all written, and encouraged your friends to write, to Babergh District Council with your views on the proposed development. If you haven’t we understand that it is not too late and letters will be accepted by Babergh right up to the time that it is presented to the committee responsible for planning applications. You may have noted in the press that none of the three councillors representing Hadleigh has a place on that committee; the Society has written to Babergh and to the leaders of the political groups to raise these concerns. Tesco’s Case At the moment your executive committee is studying the 400 or so pages of the evidence and surveys presented in Tesco’s planning application. We have written to Babergh giving notice of our concerns and indicated that there will be a further letter when we have had time to assess the details in the documentation. Some of their errors are very simple but they illustrate how little they know about Hadleigh. Tesco Impact on Other Towns When the Tesco team met with the Hadleigh Society executive committee, at our request they identified four towns similar to Hadleigh where their developments have enhanced the town. These were Stow-on-the-Wold, March, Hertford and Kidderminster. The situation in Stow-on-the-Wold was very vividly portrayed in the Daily Telegraph article on Saturday, May 29th. If anyone missed it we can provide a copy. Joe and Jan Byrne went to visit March. Many of you will know it has little in common with Hadleigh. The population is 18,500 and so it has a much larger shopping area. The High Street is full of shops such as Boots, Superdrug, Woolworths and clothes shops, but we did not see any independent food stores. We did find a 27,500sq ft. supermarket, built in the last two years and just off the High Street but it belonged to Sainsbury’s. We understand from the manager that Tesco and Sainsbury fought for the site and Tesco lost. (Has any one told Tesco: they surely didn’t know when they sent us to look at it).  The Byrnes then went on to Wisbech
to find a fairly new shopping area with a supermarket in the centre of the town, and a
market place. Their High Street was very sad with many of the shops boarded up. They saw
only one independent butcher and one greengrocer. Wisbech may well show what Hadleigh
would become like if a supermarket was built in our High Street.
You may know of other towns where Tesco has opened stores in the past few years. For instance, Blandford Forum, Faversham, Honiton, Princes Risborough, Hook or Ledbury. We would like to hear of any accounts of how these developments have affected the life of the town. Contact Jan Byrne 822192
Town Meeting You will have read the press report of the Annual Town Meeting at which it was proposed that a referendum be taken on the supermarket. At the subsequent meeting of the Town Council this suggestion was voted out, not least because the cost was likely to be more than £3,000. It was agreed that a Town Meeting should be called to discuss the supermarket plans and to take a vote identifying the town’s feelings. In general we residents are very poor at attending town meetings but we urge you to attend this one to ensure that your vote is counted. The outcome of the Society’s survey was very clear but the pro-Tesco lobby is claiming that it carries no weight. As some councillors are likely to take their stance from a Town Meeting your attendance is essential to make your views count. Keep up the pressure We are trying to keep a high profile on this topic in the press. Too many people are suggesting that it is a forgone conclusion that the store will be built. Please remember that some Tesco plans in other towns have been defeated. There have been two earlier applications but as yet no supermarket has been built. It is up to us to ensure that we keep the pressure on Babergh and influence all the Babergh and Town councillors on this issue if we wish to keep Hadleigh as a Market Town and not a Supermarket Town.
Your new Town Councillor Jan Byrne would like to thank every one who voted for her in the recent elections to the Town Council. She says "I will do my best to serve you and trust that you will contact me if you have any concerns with which I can help."
May Show
AGM, Cheese and Wine - This year’s AGM will be held on the ground floor of Hadleigh Town Hall. It will be followed by the presentation of the Society’s Noel Turner Award for ‘Outstanding Improvements’ in our town:
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SUPERMARKET UPDATE
We were pleased to see so many of you
on our stand at the May Show. We had a very hectic day and the displays attracted a lot of
attention, particularly those about the supermarket application. We acquired a large
number of signatures on the petition that CAASH has organised and we will continue with
the petition for a few weeks more. 
Everyone
seemed to enjoy themselves, including our President, Canon John Griffin.
All views expressed are those of the
contributors and are not necessarily those of the Hadleigh Society