“About time this store was built! Barnstaple is the biggest town in north devon and deserves a flag ship supermarket as befits its status. Personally i think Tesco are to be congratulated for wanting to build a store here especially in a recession! As for the bleeding hearts, well you dont have to shop there (tho i bet you will). There is far too much NIMBYism in the UK these days, time to stop living in the past! The high street will always be part of the fabric of a town but its never going to be the most important part any more.”

“I blame Chops! it's all his fault, let him out and we will have a town again! whoop whopp!”

“Colin,
GROW UP!
If you don't want to shop there, don't go in!
Tesco's will not be responsible for other shops closing down, the people of Barnstaple will be to blame.”

“YAY! cant wait for the tesco to arrive! finally wont have to pay 87p for a mars bar down the offy!”

“What Tesco really means:

T hanks.
E verywhere
S hops
C losing -
O nwards!”

“On the subject of Margate - I'm surprised how such a failing town has managed to stay so far of the game - falling into disrepair several years before the current recession started. I'm not blaming Tesco directly for the failure of the town more the fact that by commissioning several out-of-town super-developments (including the largest Tesco I've ever seen) the town has suffered massivly.

The addition of another Tesco in Barnstaple will certainly divert money from the local economy however whether or not it will have a significant or insignificant effect on the town itself is impossible to ascertain.

If enough of the local shops go out of business (or in the case of larger shops; relocate to out-of-town) then the reduced footfall in the street will have a knock-on effect and drag other retailers down. One of the social effects of this is (as commented about regarding Margate) the creation of a shambles; a place that attracts alcholism - which in turn has a negative effect on business.

I don't object to the continued expansion of the Tesco empire; they do make everybodies life much easier and are ultimatly the natural progression for our supply-and-demand society. I would rather see ND council take the money and invest it in progressive businesses that cater to the consumers need for specialised or local knowledge at point of sale.

p.s. since Margate seems to be a surprisingly popular seaside place to be - can I recomend Captain Digbys restaurant in Broadstairs - often crowded but fantastic food and brilliant views.”

“Does Nick Harvey do/say anything unless there's an election on the horizon? His comments seem to be completely worthless and opportunistic.

If he wants people to shop in the town centre rather than at supermarkets and on the internet, why does he allow car parking charges to continue to increase, which, alongside a lack of conveinient spaces, is the biggest turn off for would-be shoppers.

We already pay huge amounts of council tax, and for not a great deal in return. Parking charges a just a shameless stealth tax, and a complete pain in the a##e!

Council tax pays for the car park to be built, pays the traffic wardens wages, we pay VAT on anything we buy anyway, pay tax in order to keep a car on the road, pay extortionate amounts of tax in order to fuel our cars.

Parking charges are currently 90p per hour but if your staying for under an hour, even 10 minutes, many people probably put in a pound, for lack of having the correct change. And why dont parking machines give change?

I dont see how another Tesco is going to make any difference to the town centre. Barnstaple already has a Tesco, so if people want to go to Tescos instead of the town centre they already can, and they can drive straight there and park for free. Its not like people who park in NDDC car parks, or near the high street, are now going to walk over to the severn brethren industrial estate to shop at Tescos.

Nick Harvey is a waste of space and too complacent in his position, too cliquee with his liberal cronies, to make any worthwhile, more radical changes which might benefit potential high street shoppers. So, instead hes just gona jump on the 'knock Tesco' bandwagon, to make it sound as if he gives a stuff.

P.s. I am no fan of Tesco's either, the capitalist, exploitative, parasitic juggernaut, but M.Ps have to make town centre shopping a more practical, conveinient and attractive propersition for shoppers. Complaining about Tesco's is a waste of time, especially at this late stage.

What is Nick Harvey seriously trying to achieve here?”

“Yea use local shops, keep the money in north devon, yea, local shops like Mc Colls who charge up to 250% of that even in Somerfields, let alone Tesco.
Yea, thanks but I think I'd rather loose them.”

“Margate was recently in the news on the subject of its empty shops - it has the highest percentage of empty shops of any town in the UK. This was put down pretty much completely to the recession, even by the shopkeepers themselves. It also shows that Margate is very much an extreme circumstance, and is most definately not the norm.”

“Graham,
the downfall of Margate is not down to a Tesco's Extra,
I was there in the summer, the drunks sitting on benches drinking super strength larger, the skag heads off their heads were not down to Tesco's I can assure you. I saw the drunks going in to newsagents/off licences, drunk, buying super strength larger, NOT tesco's. if you don;t like it, don't shop there.”