News. . . .
September 4th, 2009
Supermarket plans refusal recommended by Council – for now..
Carmarthenshire’s Planning Department today published its reports on the Cawdor and Lidl (Castle Motors) planning applications and has recommended refusal for both when they go before the Planning Committee on Thursday, 10 September.
However it is unlikely that this is the last we have heard of the Cawdor plan.
Read comments from Action Group
I would welcome a supermarket of modest size to the town, it would compliment the exisiting shops and bring more trade to the town. I currently have to travel to Carmarthen or Cardigan and being a working mum would welcome the opportunity to limit expensive shopping trips for essential items which NCE currently can’t offer.
What items are you referring to that you can’t you get in town currently? I believe we already have two supermarkets of “modest” size. Or haven’t you noticed from your car. It’s amazing how little people really know about the town they live in. Are you one of them?
Response to “Supermarket plans”
I would like to point out that I do not think the existing high street supermarket in town is of a “modest” size but is extremely small, cramped in layout & it’s access is difficult for parents with pushchairs and people in wheelchairs – a complete nightmare! The existing supermarkets do not by any stretch of the imagination meet the needs demanded by the modern day shopper in respect of product quality & competitive prices. I would say the present supermarkets serve sufficiently for convenience shopping, and therefore most people would tend either do their weekly or fortnightly ‘big shop’ in Cardigan or Carmarthen.
As a local person I enjoy and use the shops in NCE and would still continue to do so even if a modest supermarket was to open in the town. I would also like to add that the variety of shops we have is great and on occasions I am prepared to pay more for their items in order to have the service they offer. For the majority of shops in the town competition is already out there, which is always a good thing from the customer’s point of view.
The existing retailers who offer the best possible product & the best service will undoubtedly maintain their market share. This could possibly increase with a new store encouraging more people from the surrounding area & existing shoppers not to travel to Cardigan or Carmarthen. However one word of warning – retailers need to think about their opening hours (Half-day opening on Wednesday and lunchtime closing, and also ease of access into their premises). I would also like to add that the County Council urgently needs to assess parts the town’s pavements which I see as a danger whether on foot or in a wheelchair.
Charlie, you seem pretty detached from small town reality here. A town with an official population of under 1,000, a wide selection of small shops and a couple of appropriately sized supermarkets plus a selection of large ones within 15 miles doesn’t need (in any common sense use of that word) its own large supermarket, let alone two of them. When the downside of those supermarkets will be increased traffic congestion, air pollution and noise plus the loss of jobs due to the closure of small local businesses, where is the benefit?
I agree, the facilities for wheelchairs and prams needs to be improved in NCE, but that’s a different issue, and has been for several years. Do you think Tesco running our social services is the way forward?
God help us all.