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Sainsbury supermarket plan

 November 6^th 2008

J. Sainsbury, the third largest supermarket group in the country, has announced plans to build a 25,000 sq ft supermarket on land behind the existing Co-op in Louth. This would be the largest supermarket in town, and the furthest from the centre. It takes about five minutes to walk from it to the Cornmarket. It is, technically, an edge of town site, as is the Cattle Market.

Here are key points from the presentation Sainsbury gave on November 5^th .

• It will be a purely food store, with fresh food counters. They won’t be selling hardware, electronics,  clothing or have a pharmacy.  
• Sainsbury appears to be trying for a green, sustainable image with some conservation features too. The store will be kept low, with a roofline to reflect some of the existing buildings in the area. There will be no room for a mezzanine sales floor, so there won’t be any further expansion possible on the site.
• Access is along James Street and Eve Street, with three articulated vehicles per day squeezing along the same inadequate access that the Co-op already uses.
• Only 27 extra parking spaces created, and new restrictions on length of stay. Clearly this will mean a loss of day-long parking for the town as whole. 
• Sainsbury is making much of working with the local community. “Sainsbury is committed to attracting shoppers back into the town centre by preventing the need to travel further afield to carry out the weekly shop,” said Robert Oxley, the group’s regional development executive.
• Significantly, Sainsbury executives at the meeting say they have been treated with unusual indifference so far by ELDC planning officials.   

 Keep Louth Special makes the following observations:

• Whatever our views on this site, it is not an issue in which general public pressure will make much difference. Planning applications have specific technical criteria on which they are assessed, including access, environmental damage, and PPS6 considerations (a government stipulation which prefers town centre sites for retail where available).
• Contrary to Sainsbury’s assertions, it is very hard to believe that a Sainsbury of this size will contribute significantly to clawing back Louth shoppers who go to Grimsby or Cleethorpes. The Tesco Extra at Cleethorpes is not only nearly three times the size of the proposed Sainsbury, at 63,000 sq ft, it covers a whole range of housewares, pharmacy, clothing etc which this store will not stock. Besides, Sainsbury is stuck with an image of being expensive and upmarket.
• In fact it is most likely that the overwhelming majority who visit this Sainsbury would be existing Louth shoppers, principally those who use the Co-op or Somerfield. However, given that a store of the size typically has a £13m turnover, it is inconceivable that it will not take at least £1m-£2m of business from the small retailers within the town.  
• Notwithstanding the above, if this store is approved, it will soak up almost all the 30,000 sq ft of retail space which the flawed Farrell Bass Pritchard report says is needed for the town. It will thus make it much less likely that ELDC will be able say a large store on the Cattle Market is needed.
• Keep Louth Special will almost certainly make a detailed submission on the planning application.

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