Tesco store plans hit by protests likely to get go-ahead, MP says

Robert Goodwill, the Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby, was speaking ahead of a key meeting today with The Scarborough Town Against Tesco Store group, which claims to have collected more than 1,000 names on a petition against the plans.

Mr Goodwill says he believes a Tesco superstore will be built on the Dean Road site, but told the Yorkshire Post he still has reservations over the proposals, particularly over the implications for parking on nearby Columbus Ravine – a crucial road in the seaside town’s tourist economy where many guesthouses and holiday flats are situated.

The supermarket giant beat rival Asda to the site with a bid of around £20m in September last year and submitted plans to Scarborough Council in January.

“The horse has definitely bolted in terms of the Tesco site”, said Mr Goodwill.

“If people think they are going to stop Tesco being there, it is too late for that.

“We need to make sure that the traffic is sorted out.

“There is a genuine concern that some of the guesthouses on Columbus Ravine could find some of the parking outside their properties taken up with people displaced from parking further up the road.

“What we don’t want to see is local businesses nearby having their parking taken away.”

Scarborough Town Against Tesco Store group (STATS) was formed by residents Malcolm Short, Joy White and Sharon Witty after a consultation event at Scarborough Library last month, where representatives of the supermarket giant were on hand to meet members of the public.

Mr Short says the group obtained 800 signatures on its petition just four hours after it was launched and says the number now stretches to more than 1,000.

The group opposes the size of the development, plans to close Trafalgar Street West and the impact on traffic, congestion and the effects on local businesses.

“It hasn’t gone through planning yet”, said Mr Short.

“It isn’t a done deal yet by any means.

“There are still a lot of issues to be resolved.

“What should be on that site is affordable housing and community facilities. It is totally the wrong place for a superstore of that size.”

A decision on whether the plans get the go-ahead is expected around April.

As part of the proposals, the existing Westwood store will be closed, with its staff transferred to the new site.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We are working with Scarborough Council, North Yorkshire County Council, local residents and other stakeholders to get the plans right for Scarborough.

“These are evolving from these discussions.”

Meanwhile, controversial proposals to build a Tesco superstore in Harrogate – the last postcode area in Great Britain without one – are set to go before a Harrogate Council planning committee in the spring.

A long-running debate has been raging over Tesco’s attempts to set up shop in the town, ever since it resubmitted controversial plans for a 24-hour store on the site of the former gasworks at New Park last year.

Local traders claim it will impact on them and business leaders have claimed the new development will bring the town to gridlock.

The supermarket giant has maintained it has a lot of public support for the scheme.

Last week, North Yorkshire County Council, which has responsibility of highways in Harrogate, wrote to Tesco saying it had no objections over the impact of the development on the roads and the plans are now expected to go before a committee soon.

“We are delighted”, a Tesco spokesman added.