Tesco objectors hand over petition with 3,700 names

Tesco wants to build on green field land at High Stakesby in Whitby under a deal with the Sisters of the Order of the Holy Paraclete, based at Sneaton Castle.

But the group Whitby Residents Against Tesco Superstore claim that the supermarket could drive shopkeepers out of business, destroy the character of the town and lead to lorries ruining the peace and causing congestion.

Yesterday nine members gathered outside Scarborough Town Hall armed with dozens of sheets of paper containing 3,712 names on a petition stating the site is wrong for any superstore.

Meeting the objectors, Cabinet member for Planning Derek Bastiman said: "I am more than happy to receive this petition on behalf of Scarborough Brough Council. It will be passed on immediately to the planning managers."

The protesters were led by Helen Barker who said the signatures represented 32 per cent of the adult population of Whitby. She continued: "We all feel very strongly about this.

"Our campaign is a private initiative by the residents of Whitby, using our own resources. It is not just people from Sneaton Castle who are objecting to this but people from all over town."

Scarborough's Planning a Committee will meet on Thursday July 29 at 1pm in Whitby Community College to hear the planning applications for the three supermarket proposals – Tesco and Sainsburys, and a store extension for the Co-operative

Coun Bastiman added: "We are holding this meeting in Whitby due to the amount of local interest these proposals have generated."

Matthew Magee, regional corporate affairs manager for Tesco, said: "Our store would create 300 jobs for local people, be accessible for over 5,500 people on foot and link in with existing bus routes.

"This means it's easier for people to go into town from our store, increasing custom for all businesses in the town, rather than people continuing to shop in Guisborough or Scarborough."

The proposals would ease traffic problems, he added.