Superstore - New Petrol Station - Parking - New Access

[Lawrence Marshall]

[Brian Butler]

Thanks Councillor Marshall for letting us know that the result of the poll was the correct one (as opposed to the one you had hoped for). I guess if it wasn't the correct one then someone would have been guilty of massaging the figures?

I voted for the superstore, but don't consider this to have been incorrect. I was simply outvoted. But that's hardly surprising given the speculation and bias surrounding the entire issue.

[Guest]

[dccairns]

[Ned Ludd]

[Cynthia]

[Ned Ludd]

[Cynthia]

Thank you for responding again in the same over emotional fashion as before - your case seems to be based on invective I repeat as per quote you: "My fear is that the anti-campaign is largely driven by protectionsim based on personality and is being run by, and on behalf of, the middle (chattering?) classes. I've read enough pages on this site, and had enough conversations with locals to know who's in and who's out. It just happens that those that are in are opposed to the superstore. But maybe that's because they know that they provide second rate service and won't be able to compete?" Ned

This is hardly the stuff to sway us to your cause is it.....

[dccairns]

The latest sureveys to do with the planning application are now available on the Council’s Planning and Building Control portal on their website.

The two surveys are:

a preliminary investigation of potentially contaminated land and

the revised transport assessment.

To view them go to "planning applications" and put in the application no (03/03021/OUT), press "click to view" on the RHS of the screen, then click on "view associated documents" on the red tab at the top. You'll see another "view associated documents" button. Click on that and then you'll see the documents listed.

The Council does not intend holding another public consultation exercise as they feel all points have been raised and are considered material to the case, however, if people believe there are further points to be made pertaining to the surveys then by all means write in again.

[administrator]

I have been asked to post the following press release by Dickie Alexander, chair of CATS:

The Portobello group CATS ( campaign against the superstore) has produced evidence indicating that the siting of a superstore at the Scottish Power site in Portobello will cause an increase in local traffic leading to gridlock in the immediate area by 2006. Chairman of CATS, Dickie Alexander stated “ When we saw the traffic figures submitted by the applicants, Duddingston Properties, they looked suspiciously low.We commissioned our own study and the results are extremely disturbing showing that junctions along Portobello High Street cannot cope with the existing traffic volume at many times of the day. Extrapolating the present traffic figures to 2006 (which is when the developers hope to open the superstore) coupled with the extra traffic engendered by the superstore, indicates that there would be an extremely serious problem which will not only bring the neighbourhood to a grinding halt but will be an environmental and social nightmareâ€Â

[Guest]

[Cynthia]

Perhaps DCC is a bit busy campaigning against the superstore and working fantastically hard - to try to persuade someone who has already read 11 pages of many people's views and decided we are all a bit over emotional or whatever - if not persuaded now, well I respect that person's right to hold those views - but really not worth a lot more info being put on here unless its new info...

[dccairns]

[ali]

I've kept silent up to now (mainly because I can get a nasty allergic reaction to self appointed community representatives who think they have a hot line to the feelings of an entire community and because I'm wary of the backlash which will inevitably hit me) because I can see both advantages and disadvantages to the superstore. However , Ned's post echoed a few of my views so here goes.

For me, the pros outweigh the cons and believe me, there are plenty of people in Porty who can't wait for a "superstore" to be built. What about the poor, the pensioners, the carless?
You people with cars have the choice to be able to pop up to Asda or Safeway.
Where do I get fresh tarragon for my roast chicken on a Sunday - Not Scotmid that's for sure!!!!!
If Scotmid was YOUR only option what would your attitude be??

What if the superstore brought people IN to Portobello??
Local businesses claim to offer quality goods and services.
If they can't keep their share of the market, when they are never done boasting about the quality of their product and their local service then perhaps they deserve to go to the wall. It's called "Capitalism". They should have some faith in their product. If they're good enough, they'll survive. If not then they go to the wall. Thats the way it works.
REAL entrepreneurs would embrace the opportunity.

I know (because I've spoken to them) that there are other people out there who think like me that given the present nature of the planning laws Porty is probably on a hiding to nothing with regard to this application.

If the superstore does goes ahead then the "Say No to the Superstore" campaign can start to put pressure on the council and the developers to mitigate some of the more serious environmental effects you doom-merchants are predicting.

[Guest]

Carla - here are two of the pics you emailed me recently. I was offline yesterday so this is the first chance I've had to post them. I will be happy to post a selection of photos from tomorrow's event so please email them ASAP.

(I have now removed these photos as Surrealist has since posted them on another thread.)

[Guest]

Ali - clearly there are local people who think the superstore is a good idea and your views on this subject are welcome on this board. I can understand your reluctance to post when the poll so clearly shows that you are in a minority, but it doesn't make for much of a discussion unless we hear both sides of the debate. I think the way to win over people like yourself is through reasoned argument, rather than beating you over the head with tired old slogans.

The carless - OK, let's be honest. For those people who currently travel by bus to Asda or wherever, this might be handier, although shopping habits tend to be ingrained. However, many other people (myself included) do have access to a car but nevertheless choose to shop locally.

Scotmid does sell a limited selection of fresh herbs, as do some of the local fruit and veg shops. I'm sure they would be happy to stock fresh tarragon if you (and people like you) were willing to buy it. Let's start a new thread - 'Things we would like Scotmid to stock' and I will alert the Head of Retail.

The superstore will attract people to the superstore, predominantly by car, who will do their shopping and leave. There will be no spin-off for local business - we all know that.

Regular readers of this forum will know that I feel that local traders don't do NEARLY enough to promote themselves (with a couple of obvious exceptions) and the fact that they can't get it together to form a traders association, at a time when their very existence is under threat, or to have a representative on the Community Council is very disappointing. However, I think that the High Street is slowly improving and I remain optimistic that someone will step forward to unite the retail and small business community. To survive, local traders need support and encouragement. I don't want to live in a world governed solely by market forces, otherwise I'd relocate to the US.

For me, the doom-mongers are those who seem to think the superstore is an inevitablility. I don't believe it will ever be built and I look forward to a busy and thriving 21st century Portobello High Street at the heart of the community with fresh tarragon for your roast chicken, which I hope will be of the free-range variety stocked by Findlays. TIP - they come in on a Thursday and sell out quickly. More expensive than your intensively farmed supermarket factory product but worth every penny!

[Guest]

Link to yesterday's EN article:

http://news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=376862004

Congratulations to everyone involved in this morning's demo. Good speeches, great sausages! Hope to get some photos up later today.

[Guest]

First pictures of this morning's demo, courtesy of Elaine Ferguson

The motorcade provided a noisy and colourful start to the event.






Skaters against the superstore!

[Epykat]

Well done to all you noisy demonstrators! I didn't get along to the Town Hall but I did give you a supporting wave as you passed (yes, the idiot on the High Street was me! )

[Hawkeye]

Ali is very interesting in developing a ‘nasty allergic reaction to self appointed community representatives’ because this obviously allows him/her to speak for the poor, the pensioners and the carless. Many poor pensioners already enjoy good access to supermarkets by bus, to Tesco, Asda, Safeways, Sainsburys to name just half of the supermarkets already a few minutes ride away. It’s disingenuous to believe that hordes of poor pensioners would be tramping along the High Street to any new superstore.

Bob has already stated that Scotmid provide a range of fresh herbs, although as with all supermarkets the term fresh is relative. And yes, I really do hope that Ali’s chicken was free range from a verifiable source and not from the far east, transported, re-packaged and sell by date adjusted.

Ali has not followed the arguments based on actual studies of the effects of edge of town supermarket developments on existing shopping areas. Superstores do not bring shoppers into the existing shopping area because they are designed for the car owning middle chattering classes who drive to the superstore, load up with a fortnight’s or month’s provisions and then drive out again. I thought that the Thatcherite ‘Capitalism’ experiment in the UK had been rejected by the majority of the population. Uncontrolled capitalism serves a very few - and certainly not the poor pensioner. The supermarkets are so powerful in controlling the supply of food and other commodities in this country that checks have to be put in place to try to balance this. One check is to prevent superstores being built close to existing shopping centres and squeezing them to death with their loss-leaders.

I’m glad that Ali recognises that given the present nature of the planning laws that Porty is probably on a hiding to nothing - especially with the evidence of recent planning decisions. However, we can but try to influence those who take planning decisions in the imperfect democratic system in which we live. No one has a hotline to the feelings of an entire community - how can they tap into a non existent consensus. But, during the last seven months since the application was lodged, of those who have expressed feelings on the superstore, there is a huge majority of local people, including poor pensioners, against the proposal. Remember, the best way of mitigating the serious environmental and social effects of the superstore is to oppose its construction in the first place. Come on Ali, join us in this.

[Guest]

More photos of today's demo, this time by Jane Seagrave, at:

http://www.porty.org.uk/planet_porty/su ... /index.htm

[Surrealist]

Edinburgh East SSP have a page of photos from todays demo up at :

http://www.edinburgh-east-ssp.org/ssp_photos/pcats/

here are a few of them, including some famous faces


(from left to right - Mark Ballard, Dickie Alexander, Caroline Hosking, Gavin Strang, Tony Blair (seated), Susan Deacon, Colin Fox)

[Ned Ludd]

[Surrealist]

[dccairns]

[Cynthia]

[Guest]

[dccairns]

[Cynthia]

[Cynthia]

[Jamesie]

I was on the phone to my mum the other night and she'd heard a rumour that Wetherspoons wanted to open a pub in the shopping centre complex?

Not had a chance to look at the planning application to see if there would be space for it, but if so, I bet the Porty publicans will be out in full force!

James

[Epykat]

[dccairns]

[Guest]

While we await an update on the Superstore application, good news for local butchers, as reported recently at:

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/in ... 0519165550

Findlays has been enjoying a lot of high profile publicity recently and the next TV chef to pay homage to his haggis is Ainsley Harriott, who will be filming at the shop on 1 July for his forthcoming TV series '50 Things to Eat Before You Die.'

Remember - you read it here first!

[Guest]