From the Canal to Sevenways

Tesco, The Cricket Club, The neighbouring Developer, The Council and lots of lawyers

Trafford is at the High Court this week in the latest instalment of the legal squabble over the disputed right to build us a supermarket. Tesco wants to build us a giant megastore opposite PC World, but Derwent Holdings want to build us a large one at their White City retail park.

It would be nice to think that these two filthily wealthy corporate hordes could be allowed to sort out their differences as Harry Hill would have them do, but unfortunately its going to cost us. Yes we’re probably going to have to pay the lawyers to determine who’s going to build their supermarket for us. We’ll pay but no one’s interested in which supermarket residents want, how big or how small, or where to put it, if we want one at all.

The media are desperate for the reactions of Jim Cumbes, Chief Executive of Lancashire Cricket Club and his running commentary on the court case and the ‘righteousness’ of the Tesco plan. It’s easy to see why that is the story; Jim wants his £21m and who can blame him? The club gets the £21m from Tesco in exchange for the land it’s getting from the cricket club the school. But not to worry, the community gets a sports led regeneration doesn’t it? Well no actually the community doesn’t get any facilities out of this deal (sports or otherwise). It would have at least been interesting if there had been something at stake for the community; a revamped sports centre for instance. But no, this is about Lancashire Cricket Club in their belated attempts to catch up with the other County Grounds.

On Friday we’ll get to learn who’s going to build the supermarket. Hopefully, the legal bill will be modest.  And then we can start working on the consequences.

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Mike Cordingley

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  1. T.BOGGIANO avatar
    T.BOGGIANO

    What is interesting about this farago is NOT that the neighbourhood do not want or need two supermarkets on their doorsteps but that the declared aim of Tesco as stated in their presentation evening at Trafford Town Hall by their Marketing bod was to DENY Asda income from the Trafford Park and Hulme sites by placing a ‘convienient alternative’ in the midst of the two Asda locations.
    Trafford Council has been hung on its own petard of greed and so called ‘improving Traffords legacy’ ie bolstering up a company ie LCC who already run a hotel, a catering facility, an increasingly intrusive and profitable concert and events calender and still cannot afford the paltry £20 million on its own back to improve its add on cricketing field.
    The overall labrinthine and convoluted mode of funding, which Trafford has sought to employ by the involvement of Tesco, together with the NWDA is seriously suspect and also the embroilment of Stretford High School attempting to cover the whole over with a disguise of educational veneer really fools nobody as to the true context where this road map has been created.
    Facilities for the Community? Who are you kidding? Profits for the mega store and sod the Community, thats the reality!
    Whilst waxing the hands, or shall we put it, the cricket bats of the club members of LCCC who are in the corridors of power to help the process along.
    As for the proposed sports hall for Stretford High School, that paradine of educational excellence that dispays so many signs on its facias that one would think it was a Mcdonalds. Within a 5 mile radius of Great Stone Road you have existing Stretford Sports Centre, Longford Athletics Track, LCCC cricket training wickets, MUFC Carrington training facilities. Now who honestly believes that a further encroachment on the only green lung untouched by the slimy hand of this whole dubious suburban redevelopment is not part of the same underhanded game?
    That is, build a new Sports hall for the communities’ good as well as Stretford High School and then miraculously discover that two sports centres are not cost effective in such close proximity and one can hear the banal refrain already ‘that its only right that the old run down and decrepid Stretford Sports Center will be torn down!’ Which, consequently, would leave more car parking space for Tesco – (shock horror!)

    This may explain why on the actual plan originally displayed in Trafford Town Hall the houses currently on Great Stone Road were all coloured in the same purple as everything else that was going to be redeveloped.Does that mean that we are going to be Compulsory Purchased in the second or third stage of this dubious project

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