The No Clapton Tesco Campaign

We have heard that the windows have been smashed at the Tesco Express on Lower Clapton Road. We want to emphasise that this has nothing to do with the No Clapton Tesco campaign. We have always used legitimate and community agreed means of protesting about this shop and its threat to our local economy and we don’t agree that destroying property is the way forward on this issue.

We wil be asking the  shop’s management to meet the local community to discuss the issues that some local people clearly have with its presence.

15.02.11

The Tesco express on Lower Clapton Road is only allowed to deliver to the store using the loading bay on Lower Clapton Road close to the Pond. They are also only supposed to take 20 mins and not cause disruption to pedestrians or traffic, this was the basis of the objections to the store. In the short time the store has been open we have seen a disregard for these restrictions and are publishing photos showing this on the gallery page. This is building a collection we can send to the council and TfL.

If you have any photos to add to the gallery of Tesco staff actions causing issues please head over to the contact page and send them in to us. Please make sure you add the date and time.

The store on Lower Clapton Road opened today (Friday 11th Feb), but this article over on the Hackney Citizen highlights information from the freeholders (Family Mosaic) that legal negotiations have not yet been completed for the store to commence trading.

Tesco Express opened today on Lower Clapton Road E5. Photo: Emily Webber

Whilst Tesco Express on Lower Clapton Road opened its doors for the first time today, residents of Alva and Shire Courts living above the shop have been told by their housing association, Family Mosaic, that it is seeking legal advice. The Citizen has asked Family Mosaic and Tesco for comment.

In May last year, local campaigners staged a demonstration in opposition to plans to open the new store which, they argued, would cause disruption for those who live nearby and harm local shops. They also collected nearly 500 signatures on a petition to the council to reject the plans.

A letter from Family Mosaic on the residents' noticeboard inside the block at 144-146 Lower Clapton Road

Update in the Hackney Citizen 2pm Tuesday 15 February 2011:

A spokesperson for Tesco said: “As a company we would not comment on negotiations and agreements with landowners or agents as these are confidential. All the planning consents and legal paperwork is completed. The store is extremely popular and the feedback we have received from customers has been excellent with people queuing to get in on opening morning.  We look forward to becoming part of the community and serving local people.”

A spokesperson for Family Mosaic said: “I can confirm the paperwork is now complete. Tesco did commence trading before we expected them to and we are now working with Tesco and, most importantly, our residents to ensure they don’t experience any further inconvenience.”

From the Hackney Citizen

Update on Tuesday 15 February:

Letter sent by Family Mosaic to residents:

Further to our letter dated 10th February, we are writing to you to inform you that we are delighted to have reached agreement for Tesco to open a new “Express” store on the ground floor.

Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, and before the legal documentation was completed, Tesco actually opened last Friday, 11th February. We are aware that this has caused some update and annoyance to you all – especially as we had not written to you to notify you of the expected opening date. We sincerely apologise to you to this and for any upset caused. We were proposing to notify you of the opening of the store once we knew what the opening date would be after completion of legal documentation relating to the store.

In recognition of the premature opening and upset caused, we have obtained a contribution of £2,000  as a gesture and in recognition that the early opening has caused distress. We would like to spend the contribution for the benefits of all residents in this development.

Bad news I’m afraid, condition 10 has been passed – Tesco can now deliver from in front of the store.

We had prepared a load of evidence in response to that submitted by Tesco at the previous planning meeting, which we felt was inaccurate. In summary:

1. Tesco deliver much more frequently than they stated in the previous planning sub committee to this size of store.
2. The delivery bay is already in frequent use. Allowing up to 12 vehicles a day (a total of five hours of deliveries) would mean the bay is not available to other vehicles.
3. Tesco’s other local deliveries are made by larger vehicles which would not fit into the loading bay, and there is no evidence that this store would be different.
4. Danger of roll cage conflict with pedestrians is a legitimate reason for refusing planning consent, and has happened elsewhere.
5. Tesco are able to deliver in accordance with the existing planning consent.

We’d submitted it to the council’s Democratic Services department in advance, but they had unfortunately failed to pass it on to the planners or distribute it to the councillors on the planning committee. We had bought some copies along in case of this eventuality, but the Chair of the planning committee prevented us from handing them out. He also limited our speaking time to 2 minutes rather than the usual five.

So I’m afraid that the councillors didn’t get to hear our legitimate concerns, see the evidence that Tesco’s submitted evidence was untrue, nor hear the precedents where other planning committees had been refused in the same circumstances.

Good points were also made by our concerned local councillors, notably that as a public body, Hackney Council is legally obliged to act in a consistent manner. Condition 10 was imposed to ensure “that the Public Highway is available for the safe and convenient passage of vehicles and pedestrians” as the planning committee previously felt that allowing deliveries from the front of the store would compromise this. No-one there, not the chair of the committee nor Tesco’s representative could tell us what had changed with the development since the condition was impose, which does seem to indicate that that the planning committee did not act in a legally consistent manner.

But enough of this. Tesco will be opening now despite any procedural or legal technicalities. They’ll be parking in the bus stop in larger lorries than they said they’ll use. What can we do about it?

• You can take photos of them parking illegally, and either send them to us or report them to Tfl
• You can shop elsewhere. Express stores are more expensive than local stores and indeed more expensive than Hackney Tesco. And, unexpectedly, Tesco are consistently more expensive than other supermarkets except Asda.

The Agenda for the meeting on Thursday has been announced on the Hackney Council website.

The meeting starts at 6:30, we don’t know the exact time our bit will be heard, but it is point 9 and 10. It would be great if you could join us to show your support.

The next planning hearing for the 2 outstanding points will be on the evening of Thursday 9th December more details to follow.

Correction – there is just one hearing related to the removal of condition 10 (2010/1041)

If you are interested in helping the campaign we are looking for some volunteers who could spare an hour or two on Tuesday the 16th November. Please use the contact form below to get in touch.

This form has now been removed

The Agenda and decisions from the meeting last week are now on the Hackney Council website. The full minutes are yet to be published.

As you can see, every application that was granted has conditions and there are two decisions that have been deferred to the next meeting. As we understand it: point 12 regarding the sign is to ask the applicant to provide a less intrusive sign. Point 14 regarding deliveries had insufficient information for a decision to be made.

Taken from the Hackney Council website

Planning Sub-Committee
Wednesday, 6th October, 2010 6.30 pm

• Attendance details
• Agenda frontsheet  PDF 530 KB
• Agenda reports pack  PDF 85 MB
• Printed decisions  PDF 51

And the sections relevant to us

9. (Installation of internal plant equipment and external ventilation
louvers) 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 93 KB

Additional documents: Binder1, item 9.  PDF 6 MB

Decision: Planning Permission be GRANTED, subject to conditions.

10. (Installation of 6 security bollards.) 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 91 KB

Additional documents: Binder1, item 10.  PDF 6 MB

Planning Permission be GRANTED, subject to conditions

11. (Installation of a new shopfront.) 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 90 KB

Additional documents:Binder1, item 11.  PDF 6 MB

Decision: Planning Permission be GRANTED, subject to conditions.

12. (Installation of 1 x internally illuminated fascia sign, and 1 x
internally illuminated projecting sign.) 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 92 KB

Additional documents: 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 92 KB

Decision: The application was DEFERRED.

13. (Installation of an ATM machine and a security door.) 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 89 KB

Additional documents: Binder1, item 13.  PDF 6 MB

Decision:Planning Permission be GRANTED, subject to conditions.

14. (Removal of Condition 10 : no loading or unloading of goods) 144-146 Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0QJ  PDF 103 KB

Additional documents: Plan, item 14.  PDF 1 MB

Decision: The application was DEFERRED.

“We have played Tescopoly and it looks like we’ve thrown some winning dice today with the deferment of any planning committee decision on their using mega ton lorries to deliver into the street of Lower Clapton Road.”

‘There are a number of other outstanding issues we want to see answered including their proposal to park their lorries in a conservation area without bothering with any consultation of the Conservation area committee or the council’s conservation officer.

‘There has been no consultation with us as elected representatives or local residents by this supermarket giant which plans to walk into the area with an Express shop when it is planning to build a gigantic ‘Tesco Extra’ minutes away in Morning Lane. Aren’t they taking enough of our hard-earned cash already?

‘We are still saying no to this move and we urge all local residents to do the same. Take a look at the blog which has been set up www.noclaptontesco.org Contact Ian Rathbone on 07890 654 068 for more info.

‘We are all for variety in the local economy but the community’s kind, working with the community, helping to create community, not substituting for it with the one state Tescopoly variety.

‘As we have said before – Please, Tesco – do us and yourself a favour. You make £3bn profit every year already – go somewhere else. Haven’t you got enough stores already in Hackney?’

Cllrs Ian Rathbone, Linda Kelly, Deniz Oguzkanli (Leabridge Ward)

7 October 2010

Thanks for everyone that came to the hearing last night, it was certainly an interesting meeting. The outcome is that a decision has been deferred on the applications that was also our biggest concern so it’s not decided either way yet.

We will update you with more later