In this week’s “Kev’s Column” Kevin takes a look at the rejection by a Planning Inspector of Tesco’s Plans to build a Supermarket at Edginswell.
When the South Devon Link Road opens later this year the first impressions of the bay for those arriving here for the first time will be set by the new junction at Edginswell and the developments that are built around it.
Our main railway also passes the site that will mark the entrance to the bay and the first thing seen after the road viaduct that marks our municipal boundary. The future use of this site will send a message about how we see ourselves, what type of economy we are looking to have and set the scene for what comes next.
First impressions count for a great deal and it is therefore vital that careful thought goes into what this site is used for. That is why I opposed plans for it to be used for a Supermarket development, as did the majority, although not all, of residents in the survey’s I carried out on the subject.
Some opposed this plan on the basis that it would have just been another chance to shop at Tesco who already have a number of stores across the bay. The identity of the supermarket was not a factor in my decision to oppose their plan as once permission was granted the site could easily have been sold to another chain.
My focus was on what it would say about the bay to have a large Supermarket on this site and that this was not the best use of this unique opportunity. No-one is going to travel to Torbay purely due to us having a better supermarket than Newton Abbot or Totnes. This type of development is not unique and there are already large supermarkets in the bay, plus several others within a short drive from the Ring Road.
The site at Edginswell is a chance to develop a real gateway that either creates a unique facility or business opportunity, whilst sending a powerful message about where we see the bay heading. I can remember on my first drive into Bournemouth in 1998 seeing the large office buildings of Zurich Municipal. It instantly sent a message that the town was not just about tourism, but being an ideal destination for service industries looking for a base away from the high costs of London. A large supermarket would not have done the same.
Whilst the supermarket plan would have brought a short term jobs boost in the long run more would have been lost. This is not just due to further trade being taken from the Town Centre and other shopping centres, but the loss of a unique site that could deliver so much more for our wider economy.
The Torquay Gateway Development offers a chance to develop something unique that could give a powerful and positive image to those coming into the bay about where we are heading, particularly if used to attract skilled, year round jobs. If it had just been allowed to be used for another supermarket then the message about the bay at the end of the Link Road would have been very different.