Port protest against store project

A protest against the proposals drawn up by the supermarket giant is gathering pace with a last-ditch attempt to ensure that the blueprints for the development on the outskirts of the town are not given planning permission.

A decision on whether the Tesco scheme should be approved is expected to be made later this month by Scarborough Council at a specially convened planning meeting, which will also consider a proposed development by the rival Sainsbury chain.

The Sainsbury scheme is planned for a brownfield site on an industrial estate across the other side of Whitby.

A third application from the Co-operative to extend its premises in the centre of the port is also due to go before the meeting, which is expected to be held on Thursday, July 29.

It is the Tesco proposals on greenfield land, however, which have provoked the strongest opposition and campaigners are now staging a final push to block the plans.

A public meeting has been organised by Whitby Town Council on July 22 – a week before the planning decision is due – to give the port's residents the chance to voice their views and concerns about the proposed supermarket developments.

The Mayor of Whitby, Terry Jennison, admitted that the battle over the supermarket applications was one of the biggest decisions which the town had faced in recent years.

While he declined to discuss his preferred option, Coun Jennison said: "It is a very emotive issue, and one which has split the town.

"It is very important that the people of Whitby attend the meeting as it will be a final chance for them to air their views before a decision is made by Scarborough Council."

Members of a campaign group called Whitby Residents Against Tesco will speak at the meeting to outline the case against creating the supermarket on land at Sneaton Castle.

Concerns have been raised over the impact that the development will have on the town, causing more traffic tailbacks on Whitby's already congested streets as well as impinging on the port's famous landscape.

Protesters have launched a petition and collected more than 3,200 signatures, and Friends of the Earth has added its support.

The campaign group's spokeswoman, Helen Barker, 67, lives with her husband, Wilfred, 70, in Runswick Avenue close to the site earmarked for the Tesco development.

Retired teacher Mrs Barker claimed that a brownfield site should be used for a supermarket development.

She added: "If a Tesco supermarket is built on the proposed site, it will affect the town for generations to come. We need to protect this town, and that is exactly what we are attempting to do with the campaign."

An order of nuns has faced criticism from protesters after agreeing to sell off part of its estate for the supermarket.

However, the Order of the Holy Paraclete, which was founded in 1915, this week defended its actions and said the sale of the land would be used to fund community projects, as well as providing affordable housing.

Tesco has also issued a strong defence of its proposals, and claimed up to 300 jobs could be created.

The developer behind the scheme, York-based S Harrison Developments Ltd, stressed that 93 "badly needed" affordable houses would also be built.

The public meeting organised by Whitby Town Council will be held at the port's Spa Pavilion from 6.30pm on July 22.