Town loses fight to bar first supermarket
A PICTURESQUE rural town has lost its battle to stop Co-op from opening the high street’s first major chain supermarket.
Residents in Crickhowell, in the Welsh Brecon Beacons, are proud of the independent shops lining their streets and reacted with fury at the Co-op plans.
Families protested, with more than 100 objections lodged with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority against the opening of a first national chain store in their high street.
Crickhowell had previously won the Britain’s Best High Street gong. But residents and shop owners are now furious with the plans.
Independent
Fay Jones, the Tory MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, said: “I live near Crickhowell and am hugely proud of its award-winning independent high street.
“As shoppers come back to the high street, now is not the right time for these businesses to face additional pressures.”
Eden Phillips, who owns a bakery in the town, said: “I think it’s going to affect all the independent retailers who have been fighting through this pandemic to be honest.
“It’s a bit of a shame really but hopefully all our loyal customers will stay. That’s all we can hope for really.”
Chloe Masefield, owner of the Natural Way health food store, said: “I’m surprised because I know the community have put a lot of effort into trying to stop it from coming to Crickhowell. People in the town feel strongly about supporting the independent nature of Crickhowell.”
Co-op plan to convert a former Conservative Club into a new supermarket – after Tesco lost a similar battle six years ago. A Co-op spokesman said: “We understand that the planning committee has approved the application and we look forward to the opportunity to serve the community.” The move comes
after hundreds of residents fought against plans to turn a pub into a new supermarket.
Prince Charles had visited the town to praise their fight to turn the pub into a community hub instead.