It will be interesting or disappointing to find out if the council will support the needs of a few local shops or the needs of hundreds and hundreds of residents living on the south side of Bourne.

I live on the south side of Bourne and would indeed find it very convenient to have a shop or a supermarket on the old Opico site. However, more than the convenience, it would be good at long last to see the end of an eyesore that the empty area of land has become.

Possibly hundreds and hundreds of Bourne residents would benefit if Tesco come to Bourne, along with the many, many commercial units already in Cherryholt Road.

Sadly, however, a few town centre shops may feel the pinch, but I would have thought that the lengthy delay in the Burghley Street revamp has caused them more damage over the years than the would be arrival of Tesco.

Should the good old days ever return, and I think it most unlikely, then there are still many, many more empty units and sites at present in Cherryholt Road and Bourne that could be used to accommodate small businesses to provide skilled employment and training for the forthcoming school leavers, if that was a concern of the local council and last week's letter writer, Jonathan Williams.

At present, it would seem, judging by the long check-out queues and lack of car parking spaces that Sainsbury's struggles to meet the needs easily of local people, try as they may.

Should, however, Rainbow ever close, and there seems every likelihood of this happening as it is common knowledge that they wish to sell to a housing development as soon as, then Bourne would be much better served by having another supermarket in place.

However, I am aware and agree with Mr Williams that there is every chance that the district council will stand up and say "not over my dead body". I personally will be disappointed if this should happen and would be interested to know other people's thoughts on this subject.

PAM OSBORNE
Kestrel Drive, Bourne


I ASSUME that most residents of Bourne have, like me, received two communications from a company working for Tesco about its application for planning permission for the former Opico site on South Road.

Had Tesco's consultants been capable of organising a party in a brewery we probably would have only had one communication, but that is beside the point.

I trust that our political leaders will use every means at their disposal to resist this application, because permitting it to proceed will surely spell the end of Bourne as a market town, and will turn the town centre into wasteland.

The presence of another large supermarket in the town will make life more difficult, if not intolerable, for the small independent retailers in the town centre.

If Tesco's store gets built, we can expect that local butchers, whole food retailers and bakers will close in the same way that every independent greengrocer in Bourne closed shortly after Sainsbury opened its store.

As a result, the incentive to visit the town centre will reduce and

other retailers in the centre will find that their businesses no longer remain viable.

The centre of Bourne will be reduced to a collection of banks, estate agents and charity shops.

Under such circumstances, the council can expect never to be able to afford the much vaunted town centre redevelopment; and even if they did, who would want to open a shop in it, given the competition from Messrs Sainsbury and Tesco?

The council should devote its energies, and provide incentives, to encouraging a supermarket to take over the former Budgens store.

If more floor space is needed, the store could be enlarged and the car park turned into a low rise multi-storey car park, utilising the roof of the enlarged store if necessary.

The council should consider imposing car parking charges. The first three hours should be free and subsequent hours charged at £2 per hour, so that the car park favours shoppers in Bourne centre, rather than apparently providing free parking for commuters to Peterborough.

The former Opico site should be developed as a fuel filling station (as previously promised by South Kesteven District Council) and the remainder of the site turned over to light industry that goes some way towards generating the wealth which allows the rest of the town to flourish.

ERIC CULLUM
West Road, Bourne


TODAY I have received a letter from Green Issues Communications, which is working together with Tesco, helping it to engage with the local community over the plans for a new store on the former Opico site in Cherryholt Road in Bourne.

It says: "A key aim of the development is to create a highly eco-friendly building."

Bourne does not need another "warehouse" on the outside of town – what it needs is a new supermarket in the centre of town.

As we all know, there is a ready built and ready to use supermarket where the now empty Budgens store is.

The town centre has been dying on its feet since Budgens closed, with more and more customers going elsewhere as they cannot do the "one-stop shop" ie park in one place, enjoy the town, see all the varied and independent stores that Bourne has to offer, and buy the essentials (fresh bread, milk, veg etc). What could be more eco-friendly than using an existing building - rather than using up the Earth's resources building a new one?

I would urge everyone to go to the South Kesteven website and lodge a comment saying that Tesco should be refused permission to build new store and that it should be forced to use the existing, already built (and therefore greener) site.

You can view the application at www.southkesteven.gov.uk and go to the planning section. The application number for Tesco's store is S10/0069 or click the link http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2230&ApplicationNumber=s10/0069

If we don't get the council to see sense on this not so "eco-friendly" scheme, then would the last business in Bourne to close please turn off the lights!
IAN RICHARDS
Bourne Photographic,
Burghley Centre, Bourne


THIS is a copy of a letter I have sent in response to the open letter to residents in Bourne, regarding the proposed Tesco store on the Opico industrial site.

No plan was attached, to show the site in detail. I would have thought that this was a crucial part of the communication!

As an alternative, I visited South Kesteven's website, to check out the plans – no plans on its site either!

For the local populace to be informed and consulted, I would have thought that the criteria would have included full information.

Can I ask how this will be rectified? Another open letter to all Bourne residents to include the plans?

At what expense to Tesco and the environment, with multiple printing and delivery of what some would call - junk mail!!

I look forward to your response.

MRS T WESTWOOD
Harvey Close, Bourne