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Breaking the Supermarket Habit
Starting in Dawlish

‘Tell Me More’, 24 February 2008

I wrote this paper (below) on the threat to my lovely, lively home town, Dawlish, from two supermarket giants. A downloadable copy is also available: the full paper or a shorter leaflet version.

If you’d like to help gather support, here is a flyer and contacts sheet.

Also available, a valuable reference paper from Corporate Watch: ‘Building your case: Addressing the supermarket’s claims for the likely benefits of a new store to your town’

Chris Marsh, 15 February 2008

 

Consultations

 

Consultations have been taking place in my small home town, Dawlish in Devon, about whether or not we should have a supermarket in, or on-the-edge-of, Dawlish. It is recognised that thirty years ago, as someone born and raised in the town told me recently, ‘You could buy everything in Dawlish, you never needed to go to Exeter.’ Now, it has been estimated, seventy percent of the shopping by Dawlish residents and holiday visitors takes place outside the town, mainly in the big supermarkets in Newton Abbott, about seven miles away, and in Exeter, twelve miles. That 70% is taken as a measure of the ‘need’ for a supermarket in our town, which is a curious piece of inverted logic.

 

 

More Shops Will Close

 

It is obvious to me, and to some others who live here, that the reason so many good shops in our town have disappeared is because of the supermarkets, which have low overheads, a scale of operation which means they have buying clout, and allows them to offer cheap lines including loss leaders, and the draw of cheapness, free parking and convenience.1 Well, fine, you may say, supermarkets are wonderful, let’s have another one, in the town, so it’s even more convenient. But – hang on a minute – that’s going to mean even more shops in town closing, in particular the ones which sell stuff the supermarkets want to sell – in particular food. The likelihood is that the bakers, the butcher, the greengrocer, the grocery store and post-office, the delicatessens, the health-food shop – and probably also the hardware store and the electrical goods and household goods stores – will all close. We shall be left with the trades serving the tourists: the amusement arcade, betting shops, tattoo and body-piercing, souvenirs, cafés, ice-cream booths and fish and chip shops, plus a few estate agents, mobile phone shops and charity shops.

 

 

Supermarket PR

 

The strange thing is that the loudest public voice at recent consultations seems to be crying out for Dawlish to have a supermarket. ‘Why?’ is the big question, and the answer is partly due to a recent scare over the threatened loss of an open space amenity, so the supermarket not on that site seems attractive in comparison. The two supermarkets’ PR rubs off on some people too. As well as these factors, there is, I believe, the ‘the supermarket habit’; people have got used to them. This habit goes with short-term thinking – not only ignoring the shrinking of town trade over the past thirty years, but also denying the future threat, and the evidence from elsewhere in the world that eventually there is nothing but supermarkets. The final destructive crunch has been called ‘The Wal-Mart Effect’,2 from what has happened in America, which is ahead of us in this trend, and ‘Tescopoly’ 3, is the UK version – but this is not just about the biggest supermarkets but about supermarkets in general. What the Wal-Mart Effect means is that, once the competition has gone, so do the bargains go, so does the choice, other than ‘Hobson’s’.


The Wal-Mart Effect

 

‘Not here!’ people may say, ‘ Britain is different,’ – Dawlish is different; our town will not die, we won’t let it! But we’re not different, or only with the pace at which we succumb to the process. And when the Wal-Mart Effect takes a long time to work itself out, it can seem that town centres can actually benefit from the presence of a supermarket. But this is just a temporary surge back against the tide, which will come on – unless we stop it by shunning supermarkets while we can, being prepared to pay a little more for our food, taking a little more time to shop, buying locally not only in local shops but in farmers’ markets, farm shops, veggie-box schemes and taking an interest in how out food is produced and where it comes from.

 

 

Just a Dawlish Resident

 

So far, all I have done is express an opinion. Someone else may say, ‘I don’t agree,’ with some or all of what I have said. I am just an individual Dawlish resident, and I have only lived here for about eight years. Although I am an environmentalist, and have been a member of Friends of the Earth, and other campaigning groups, for most of my adult life, I am not active in the local FoE group (but I do respect the commitment to this issue of the local FoE coordinator, David Bailey), or in DARE (Dawlish Against Ruining Everything). I speak for myself, and will be happy to discuss this with others: phone me on 01626 888772 or 07899960860, or email chris_e_marsh@hotmail.com.

 

 

Express Your Views – Say ‘No!’

 

It is suggested that in the first instance you express your views to the panel which addressed the recent public meeting, on 12 February at Dawlish Community College:

 

  • Alan Connett, Leader of Teignbridge District Council, Forde House, Brunel Rd, Newton Abbot, TQ12 4XX, tel 01626 361101;
  • Tim Hale, Chairman of the Devon Branch of CPRE, 01404 822213, info@cpredevon.org;
  • Mike Hockin, Dawlish Chamber of Trade, c/o Ruby’s Mobiles , Queen Street , Dawlish, Devon EX7 9QJ;
  • Rosalind Prowse, Mayor of Dawlish, The Manor House, Old Town Street, Dawlish;
  • John Wilkinson, from DARE, P O Box 42, Dawlish, Devon EX7 0XZ, tel. 01626 866007;
  • Richard Younger-Ross MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

 

Write to the supermarkets themselves to say ‘No!’

  • Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd, 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT; and
  • Tesco House, Delamare Rd, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, EN8 9SL, 01992 632222.

 

Contact the press and anyone else who may be in a position to influence this crucial decision.

 

 


The Public Meeting – A Mixture of Views and Concerns

 

I attended the public meeting on 12 February, organised by our MP, Richard Younger-Ross (YR), at which there were a number of interesting and relevant presentations (although the two supermarkets vying for planning approval and a welcome from the town were not represented), and was very well attended by Dawlish residents with a rich mixture of views and concerns. I took notes of key points made, on which different interpretations are possible and questions need to be asked. My hope is that if this paper gets around, it will at least help to keep the discussion going.

 

The meeting was chaired by YR, who introduced the speakers:

Tim Hale (TH), Chairman of the Devon Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE),

Alan Connett (AC), Leader of Teignbridge District Council,

John Wilkins (JW), from DARE,

Mike Hockin (MH), Dawlish Chamber of Trade, and

Rosalind Prowse (RP), Mayor of Dawlish.

 

Speakers’ Points

Questions & Discussion

 

TH – CPRE: His interest in planning and commercial development. 1. ‘ Need’ is a material planning consideration 2. Food is the essential basic, with energy and shelter. £162 billion per annum retail turnover, 90% by multiples, 75% by supermarkets, of which Tesco has 31%, Sainsbury over 16%. We import 51% of our food by value, 29% from Europe. Security of supply is at risk, and there are questions about the security of the supply chain. Combining food and energy, we import gas and oil. Tesco’s profits are £2.5 billion, more than that of all UK farms. The average income of farmers is £17,000, for hill farmers only £8,500. We should be supporting local farmers and growers, and they need contracts. In Devon we attract tourists who come for the local food.

 

TH’s focus on food and security of supply is crucial. Discussions brought up the decline of farming – no dairy cows nearer than Exmouth, for example.

Dawlish residents and visitors’ shopping having shifted towards out-of-town supermarkets is perceived as indicating a ‘need’ for a more local supermarket. But it’s the local food (and other essentials) shops which will go. We all know ‘food miles’ matters due to climate change and peak oil, and supermarkets ship and fly in goods worldwide, local shops are more likely to support local farmers and growers, and that means more local food security.

 

AC – Council: Leader and Chair of Executive Committee and works within Councillors policy. Wears two hats: Planning and Land Owner. People do their shopping outside town, most therefore need (distinct from want) a supermarket. Bartons Car Park was abandoned. Sequential test – closest is best so as to avoid out of town. Next nearest to the centre is Sandy Lane and was a potential site, also Shutterton. Sandy Lane is connected to his role as land owner – should the Council sell or dispose? Sandy Lane is too important as a community asset. So he is not going to discuss this further. Tesco would be daft to put in a planning application because if it were approved they would get nowhere, because they would come up against the Council as land owner determined not to sell. The Football Club would sell their lease to Tesco, would that take Tesco half way? No, because all they’d have would be a football club. So Shutterton: which the Council has identified for employment, i.e. for industrial use, which is not what Sainsbury’s is, and the Council would have to change their policy. We’d need to assess the effect: where would people shop?, they would have a petrol station, what would be the effect of that? – not planning considerations.

 

It is still possible in Dawlish to get our food in the town – with another supermarket we would lose that. There is ample evidence that any supermarket is a threat to local shops.

The Tesco on Sandy Lane threat has frightened people into favouring the alternative, Sainsbury at Shutterton. AC insisted that the Sandy Lane concern is a red herring; the Council will not sell that site or allow any other use than leisure and community asset.

But either supermarket: Sainsbury as much as Tesco, is a threat to local food shops; the remaining 30%: food (bakers, butchers, general grocers, greengrocers, delicatessens, health food), also hardware, household supplies, Post Office, Boots and Woolworths, will go to the supermarket, leaving just facilities for the visitors: betting shops, tattooing, cafés, ice-cream and chippies, souvenirs – also charity shops, estate agents’ and non-essentials like mobile phone shops.

 

RP – Mayor: Wishes to keep Sandy Lane as Dawlish’s green lung, only to be developed for activities. She, like AC, is bound by the predetermination rule, which prevents them from expressing an opinion ahead of the formal discussion in Council. Dawlish has changed, will have to change further, but in the right way. What we do now is forever.

 

Another mention of the threat to Sandy Lane, which AC dismissed.

RP’s warning about change was heartfelt and should make us all think. In discussion she said ‘Dawlish will not die!’ as a result of the Wal-Mart effect, but we cannot prevent that by declarations; we have to say ‘No!’ to the supermarket.

 

JW – DARE: Fifteen months ago a similar question was being asked, and received a mixed response. If we have to have a supermarket, then it should be at Shutterton. Is there really a proven need? If so, there’s a process to follow, including an impact assessment. Any supermarket out of town will impact on trade in Dawlish. Sainsbury plans a car park with 260 spaces, therefore it is an out of town site and fails the sequential test. The leakage could be halved if the supermarket were in town. People would be happy to drive 20 minutes, and can reach out of town supermarket in that time. It would be wise to wait until we know all who are interested.

 

At the earlier public meeting there was actually a resounding ‘No!’ to any supermarket, but these monsters are persistent.

Any ‘proven need’ is based on short-term thinking. Those 70% shopping away could be reversed if more of us support the local food shops, and be prepared to pay a little more and take a little more time.

The leakage might be halved, but to the benefit of the edge-of-town supermarket instead of the out-of-town ones. That is no help to local shops.

 

MH – Trade: A survey has shown that 63 businesses in Dawlish have closed down in the last 20 years – so the town is declining fast. Already we are losing 70% of trade to out of town. Against the supermarket: we would lose more shops in the town centre, the supermarket would be after 100% not 70%. there would be increased traffic and pollution wherever the supermarket goes, because there would be free parking and easy walking to and from the car. For: The supermarket would create some local jobs, perhaps be a hub for the local area and inject some cash. It may attract young families, who look for schools and shopping. The worst case would be for a supermarket to go to Teignmouth. reasonably shopping experience. carbon footprint drop because not driving to Newton Abbott. Sainsbury plans some business units there, therefore more jobs. Young families with two jobs and kids, need a supermarket. The town is the most important thing.

 

Discussion from the floor suggested that local businesses have to adjust, be more competitive, but supermarkets have unfair advantages. MH pointed to the need for good service to customers – apparently directed at Co-op staff – but the Co-op is a supermarket, where staff are poorly paid and under pressure – they don’t stop to chat at Tesco or Sainsbury either. Service is very pleasant at all other local shops.

Totnes was mentioned as a model: the town thrives despite a Safeway supermarket virtually in the town. However, Totnes is prosperous, with residents who can afford to shun the supermarket and pay more, at the Riverford Organic shop, for example. It also has a considerable ‘alternative’ population, low paid but shunning supermarkets on principle.

 

1 ‘Building your case: Addressing the supermarket's claims for the likely benefits of a new store to your town’, http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=2369

2 Charles Fishman, The Wal-Mart Effect: How an Out-of-town Superstore Became a Superpower ( London: Penguin, 2007)

3 Andrew Simms, Tescopoly: How One Shop Came Out on Top and Why It Matters ( London: Constable & Robinson, 2007)

 

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