'People power' helps win the fight against new Tesco store

By cwilson

Overjoyed campaigners say that "people power" has saved a local shopping parade from ruin after plans to build a new store in Woodside were rejected.

Business owners on Woodside Green feared that a Tesco Express was going to be built just doors away from their shops, potentially crippling their trade.

Croydon Council received a planning application from Asprey Homes to demolish The Beehive pub and replace it with a retail unit along with five flats, eight houses and parking.

With rumours rife that Tesco was the store looking to move into the development, Anil Patel launched a petition opposing the proposals.

And the 52-year-old owner of Woodside Green's Londis store managed to collect more than 700 signatures in a month.

After hearing that the council had turned down the application last week he is jubilant.

"People power has definitely come into this situation," he said. "Especially the support we had from our loyal customers.

"We collected 700 signatures which clearly showed they were fully behind us.

"I don't want the pub to go. I want something to be there that would be more beneficial to the community.

"As a business person I don't want any place to shut down and become empty and derelict.

"We would appeal to any pub chains to continue the business. People in the community would welcome it."

Shopkeepers feared that a Tesco Express would have had a devastating impact on local businesses in Woodside.

Concerns were also raised that the development would cause more traffic problems in an already clogged-up area.

The campaign won the support of Woodside councillor Karen Jewitt.

"I'm really pleased that a building that is part of the structure of Woodside Green will be left as it is," she said.

"This is a perfect example of a community coming together on a single issue.

"The support of the retailers and residents who signed the petition helped a lot."

Planning officers ruled that the proposals would have resulted in an overdevelopment of the site which would have affected the character of the area.

They also said that a new retail store would have overshadowed the small shopping parade and would have had a negative impact on the other businesses in Woodside.

Asprey Homes now has six months to lodge an appeal against the decision to the Planning Inspectorate.

Nobody from Asprey Homes was available for comment before the Advertiser went to press.