I will not be visiting the new Tesco either. We should have had time to oppose this. Can we organise a boycott? In Bath there is a 'Real Shops Campaign'. Would anyone else enjoy starting one here at the Triangle?

..I'll be using it!

I have a young family and no access to a car and shopping is limited here - inflated prices and not much variety!

Tesco are competitive and have grown very, very big. Unfortunately they do not treat their suppliers fairly.
My family will not be shopping with them.
To suzjackson,
you could shop on line if you can not get what you need locally, avoiding Tesco of course!

I appreciate that some people need to get the best prices possible but for those who can afford a little more then its a good time to choose the Triangle shops over Tesco. Fruitopia will deliver a regular fruit and/or veg box and Gary the Butcher will happily do regular orders. I expect other shops can arrange similar if we ask. If you can go down this route then it will help keep some sort of community feel in Bitterne Park (even in the face of obstacles such as tesco, proposals to close the library etc). Also you get to know the traders and get service with a smile.

I don't think Tesco will be cheaper than the Co-op except on promotional items. I think we should all use the Tesco car park and then shop elsewhere. That'll learn 'em. :grin

I think the title is self explanatory. I live local and if Tesco's is selling something i need i will buy it and if it is cheaper than the other shops then that is a bonus.

I have looked at the Tesco planning file at the Civiv Centre.Residents did object to the Tesco development and the Residents Association "very strongly objected" However, the planning department thought that we needed a Tesco in Bitterne Park. I would support a campaign to support the retailers on the Triangle and boycott Tesco.

I'm sorry but i am a resident, i live near the church in Thorold Road, my mother and father live in Harcourt Road, we have all lived in this area all of our lives. I think that qualifies us as residents. We have never opposed the Tesco or even been asked our opinions. We both concur that the new Tesco will be a good thing. However the "Residents Association" would not be aware of our opinions, as they have never asked any of us what our opinions are. Who are they? Do they have nothing better to do? Who has so little going on in their lives that they have time to go to the Civic Centre to look at the Tesco Planning file? Why not put more effort into thinking of how the community could deal with some of the violent and dangerous teenage gangs that are constantly strolling around BP breaking the law and intimidating residents? I'm not bothered about the Tesco, im more worried about my parents getting mugged on their way to the shop. I saw a group of kids jumping up and down on someones head by the triangle a couple of weeks ago, as i approached them another man intervened and they chased him down the road brandishing knives! I consider this type of thing to be a real problem not a new convenience store.
Please comment on the questions i have just asked and things i have discussed. I would be interested in listening to what you have to say.

Nick , my choice is to support the local Coop and the existing facilities at the Triangle. Tescos threatens the facilities at the Triangle and therefore threatens my choice. Tescos has the financial muscle to 'bully 'other smaller shops out of the area.
I pity the poor residents and traffic users who will a. have to put with the noise in the morning of 40 foot arctics unloading and b.having to negotiate around them during rush hour.
As for your views on BP crime and anti social behaviour.I also am very concerned. I thought the site which the new Tesco is built on would have made a good youth centre. Who would have paid for it? Maybe Tescos could have made a donation and earned its tainted public image some good.

Nick - I am only aware of Bitterne Park Residents Association through use of this site. I think you need to go in search of them rather than the other way around. With reference to your question "Do they have nothing better to do?" - the answer is - if they didn't - who else would? Why not go to the Civic Centre to go and look at the Tesco Planning File? If something is happening in your neighbourhood and you are really interested, then make the time to find out more. If this means going out of their way to do this, then so be it. Opinions only really count if you know what exactly is going on - you can't rely on everybody else to do the work for you.
Addressing your other issue though of the teenage gangs. Did you report what you had seen to the Police?
If not, why not? The old age adage of they wouldn't do anything about it might seem true in some circumstances, but if they don't know about a problem, how can they address it. Teenage gangs seem to be a problem wherever you go these days, I don't think it's just Bitterne Park. I think the majority of the teenagers that gather in the area don't even live here, having come in from Townhill Park and St. Denys. Unfortunately if the community do not do something about it as a whole, i.e. make the Police aware of every little instance, then nothing can be done. It's called 'Pester Power' - make such a nuisance of ourselves, they will have to do something about it! The Council can grant orders banning the gathering of more than a certain number of people. Everybody can complain about the things that are seen and about the things that are done around the place, but unless the 'Community' stand together and say or shout 'we've had enough!', then nothing will ever be done. You can't always go along the line of thinking 'oh, somebody else will do it!'. I know, I've gone along that line of thinking, and it's got me absolutely no-where.
P.S. - did you see the chaos this morning (Monday 26/02) when Tesco's were having their deliveries?

How, then, nick, should residents organise themselves, to put concerns about the community? If you wait to be asked your opinion, you could be there some time, while the world changes around you.

Issues like policing/safety on the streets, the attempted closure of local resources like our library, the increase in air passenger numbers using Southampton from 1.84 million in 2005 to 6 million by 2030 (mainly for the benefit of the airport's Spanish owners), or concerns that our community is being turned into 'Clone Town Britain', with planning laws allowing the endless march of blocks of flats and faceless supermarkets to wipe out the character of the area and cause traffic mayhem, are all legitimate areas of concern for residents. And our independent stores are one of the positive features of Bitterne Park, and have surely defined our area ever since you and your parents have lived here.

How else will anything ever happen, other than by investing personal time, trying to ensure the council and other bodies actually act on our behalf, creating and participating in such groups as residents' associations or AXE (or whatever other pressure group you want to set up), and by attempting to say how we want things to be, now, and for our kids in the future?

None of these mechanisms is perfect; all involve some effort; but, as we've seen, they can have an effect. And the last residents' association meeting did invest their time in organising a session with police representatives so residents could have the opportunity to find out more about the very subjects that seem to concern you most :eek

I agree completely about the earlier comments that we should not use the new tesco store. Tescos are taking over the world and forcing small independant shops to close. Not only that they are also one of the worst supermarkets for green issues, and as already mentioned do not treat their suppliers fairly.

One of the main reasons I moved to Bitterne Park was because of the village feel around the triangle and shops, and I love to shop there. I will not be using Tescos. We must support our local shops even if it means a few extra pence it is worth it. The quality is so much better anyway. I get a fruit and veg box from Fruitopia every week and it is brilliant. It saves continuous trips to the supermarket and comes with no packaging. Tescos wrap everything in endless amounts of plastic, boxes, bags etc and it is harming our environment.

We can not be lazy and turn a blind eye. Please make the effort to shop at the triangle and keep this area alive.

Well as my comments seem to have provoked a few responses it's only right of me to respond. Firstly to all:- 1. I should clarify that i did not say Tesco is better than the other shops. I do not prefer Tesco, i will be using whatever shop i happen to be closest to at the time that i need to buy something, whether that be the Co-op or Tesco. 2. Mr Choice, I wouldn't worry about the new Tesco bullying the Co-op out of town, the Co-op group turned over more that £8 billion last year I doubt if the local Co-op will be going anywhere. As for the other shops i am sure those people who always buy their fruit and veg at a fruit and veg shop, meat from the butchers and bread from the bakery will continue to do so. The Tesco is however quite handy if you need something quick in the evening when everything is shut. 3. I can't comment on how noisy a Tesco delivery driver is when delivering to a store as i have never heard one. 4. The Shell garage had 40 ft tankers deliver petrol for years, if you managed to negotiate your way around them i'm sure you will be fine with a Tesco lorry. 5. A youth centre would have been a good idea, and yes it would be a nice gesture if Tesco donated some money to a project like this but similarly i don't see why the Co-op couldnt as well. 6. Carole Dennis, some valid points, i have never sought out the residents association, i never knew it existed and like you i stumbled over it on this website but if i didn't have the internet i still would be none the wiser, I didn't report the incident at the triangle to the police but in fairness to myself there was also another witness calling the police on a mobile, whether it got reported or not i don't know (however you are correct in saying things like this should be reported and i now know better should i be in this situation again). Everything you say about gangs is true but the whole reason behind my last comment was that i had just discovered that a residents association existed and were tackling the issue of the new Tesco and i felt that if they have the time to do that then they could tackle more important issues. Some people do have more spare time than others so before i am accused of not bothering to involve myself i would just like to say i work 6 days a week and i spend my day off and any evenings with my wife and children (if more people did the same maybe there would be less kids roaming the streets causing trouble). 7. mikeh, like i said previously if i hadn't stumbled upon this website then I would still be unaware of the residents association i am sure that this is the case with the majority of residents in BP (most of my friends and family live here and not one of them knew about it), i haven't waited for someone to ask my opinion i was just surprised that this organisation expressed the views of local people and in 36 years i hadn't heard of them . I'm sure that there are many worthwhile issues for the residents association to discuss (like the library) but i still dont think Tesco is one of them. 8. I like the Airport, i use it to get to work, i use it to go abroad and my wife, sister, sister in law, two cousins and best friend all live in BP and work there so it also provides jobs to the local community. 9. It would be nice having the time to invest in changing the world, but as i have so little spare time i choose to invest it in raising my children. However you now have me intrigued so post some details of where to attend a residents association meeting on here and i will try to make time to come. (I have attempted to follow the link from this website to the residents association website but it doesn't work and i cant find it on a search engine).

Hi
I went to their last AGM in September; there were quite a few posters around the local shops in the Triangle etc., and I think we may have had a leaflet through the door, if memory serves. I don't know what other public meetings they hold, or if they have a web page. I believe there may be another residents' association for the Bitterne Manor area; don't know anything about it, or the exact areas served by each, but perhaps you're in 'their patch'?

It's now been three weeks since the Tesco in BP opened it's doors. Last Saturday (10th March) I happened to visit the Co-Op first thing in the morning, and it was really busy. I think local people are really supporting the Triangle at the moment. I would be interested to see if the people using Tesco's are actually resident in the area, or people just passing through. I actually have to walk past the Tesco to get to Co-Op but nothing can convince me to go in there, I actually take great delight in walking back past them with my Co-Op bag in hand. For those supporting the Triangle - keep up the good work!!!!