Tescowatch (an occasional series)

[ramtops]

George Monbiot writes in today's Guardian.I have been writing about it for years. But it's only now, when I'm caught in the middle of it, that the full force of this injustice hits me. Like everyone else here I feel powerless, unstrung as I watch disaster unfolding in slow motion.
There's a similar battle going on in Bedminster, about 3 miles from

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[ramtops]

Similar situation here. Bristol City Football Club want to build a new stadium at the end of our village (which is a whole different fight), and they were planning to sell the old ground for housing to fund it. Along comes the recession, and no developer can afford to develop, and in steps Mr Leahy on his white charger.

Bedminster has an Aldi, a Lidl and a Sainsburys. It also has a greengrocer, a butcher, a deli, a couple of small electrical retailers and a thriving community on North Street. It's where we do our shopping in preference to supermarkets. Now it will be destroyed by cars, by 24 hour deliveries, and the shops will really struggle. I don't think any resident wants it - they are already well served by supermarkets - but the council wants the new footie stadium so they can compete in the World Cup (daft buggers), and so the planning consent will go through.

And then we residents of Long Ashton will be the proud neighbours of the bloody football ground, with its planned rock concerts and its lack of proper road access and its insufficient parking buggering up our village. Lovely.