It is unusual for the onward march of Tesco, the biggest beast among the behemoths that dominate Britain's supermarket sector, to be greeted with acclaim. When Tesco announces plans to open a new store, it can expect a barrage of criticism about the impact on local shops which cannot compete on prices with the heavyweight new kid on the block.
However, the local reaction to yesterday's announcement that Tesco is to acquire the town centre in Linwood, Renfrewshire, the centrepiece of which will be one of its supermarkets, was not ambivalent but positive. The response cannot be explained on grounds that Tesco is bringing a supermarket to a part of the world where none existed before: Asda has a superstore nearby and Morrisons is building a big supermarket in the vicinity. If anything, local shoppers will be spoiled for choice (what this will mean for high-street and corner shops is a different matter).
Tesco's new-found status as saviour is down to the fact that the planned development will, if it comes to fruition, transform one of the most blighted and benighted town centres in Scotland. This was an asset that was allowed by the owners, Balmore Properties, to run down over the years, perhaps in the expectation that it would be sold to a developer at a profit. The company's record of stewardship caused more than 3000 residents to sign a petition demanding a change in ownership. The community, supported by Wendy Alexander, the MSP for Paisley North, has campaigned long and hard for the transformation of Linwood's degraded heart. The owners agreed to sell after apparently being faced with the prospect of a compulsory purchase order. A willingness on the part of Renfrewshire Council to deploy this sanction against, effectively, an absent landlord is one positive aspect of this development. Another concerns the fact that Tesco will redesign the precinct to find space for a new library, health clinic, housing office and replacement for the existing community centre.
These are all community assets which, under one roof, would be a boon to the residents of Linwood, a town whose fortunes blossomed in the 1960s when the Rootes car plant was opened but then rapidly declined when the venture failed. Its centre is ripe for regeneration. Of course, Tesco is not acting out of altruism. It can be argued that overweening size and scale mean it can afford to undertake a venture of this type. While this development should, on balance, be welcomed, we must not lose sight of the fact that supermarket creep across Britain can have a damaging effect on local shops, food producers and competition.
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