Dear Sir,
When I acquired a blue badge for my car I thought it offered some
protection against vandalism, how wrong I was! Scratches done
whilst under the influence of drink I can to a degree understand,
but the sick person who recently pushed excrement under my drivers
door handle is something I did not expect, this being the second
time (I had it done some months ago). If the person concerned
would like to come and see me perhaps I can offer him some help
to acquiring a healthier state of mind.
Yours sincerely, E. A. Robinson
Dear Sir,
I would like to sing the praises of two Hadleigh boys, Adam Steer
and Dane Clapham, who were extremely kind and helpful at Hadleigh
Library when we were suddenly short staffed on a Sunday morning.
Adam and Dane immediately volunteered to help and proved themselves
not only to be kind and polite but extremely responsible too as
they successfully checked the shelves to find books that customers
had ordered. Very often young people get a bad press, so I would
really like to highlight what a fine example Adam and Dane set
and to thank them for their help which was much appreciated.
Rebecca Grist Sunday Officer, Hadleigh Library
Dear Sir,
I am a 25 year old resident of Hadleigh and have been close to
the town all my life so feel I have the right to comment on some
recent letters printed in this year’s HCN. Firstly I would
like to praise comments by Mr John Catterall who very kindly pointed
out that a correspondent in the May edition had complained of
trouble from the kids in Hadleigh, and that he objected to this
comment. Well it’s great to think that at least one person
can not be blinded by today’s press into thinking that teenagers
are the anti christ!!!
As for Hazel Biggs letter talking of 'arsonists burning EVERYTHING
down' !!! and as she comments ‘Druggies’ making the
churchyard walk a NO-GO AREA'!!!! I, like Mr Catterall am starting
to think she has imagined this. The fact is that these children
and teenagers in reality if talked to and given a chance are completely
approachable and polite and if approached with respect from anyone
will comply with a request to maybe keep the noise down or accept
advice to move on as it is unfair to disturb others. Please stop
treating young people in this town like the violent criminals
on the news, this is not London and 99 per cent of young people
here have been brought up very well. If this town were to consider
helping the young people open a youth club like they used to have
before East House closed, or some place where they can hang out,
being watched via cctv and police patrols, where they are allowed
to be kids without being classed as 'Druggies'. I personally know
many of these teens and believe me they are great kids just really
bored! Give them a chance.
Abi Pullen
Dear Sir,
I was asked by Mr Richard English of Hadleigh Cricket fame, If
I knew the where abouts of a Mr Alan (Nutty) Hynard, a Hadleigh
old boy. Is there any relative living who has knowledge of where
we can find (Nutty) is there a person in Hadleigh who has contact
with Alan, If so, contact Mr Richard English, or Mr John Smyth
of Partridge's (Lawn Mowers etc.). There is a re-union in
August, of the Hadleigh Cricket club members of old and Nutty's
presence, I have been told, would go down like a bomb, or is it
with a Bang? The Cricket club would love to see him!!! I have
contacted my bother, who like Nutty served in the Royal Air Force,
all he could say was, he last saw him in Cyprus in 1974,
a long time ago.
John Caley
Dear Sir,
Firstly this letter is not a personal attack on any resident/
contributor to the Hadleigh Community News but merely some food
for thought:
Hadleigh is a thriving market town, the majority of people who
live here would agree with that. The rising cost of food and its
production is increasing, along with the cost of fuel, I am sure
we are all aware of that in our weekly shopping but prices are
not as competitive as they could be. If Tesco were to build a
supermarket in Hadleigh it will for a lot of people make the daily/weekly
shopping trip easier on the pocket and also better for the environment.
Did you know that if every resident in Hadleigh were to do their
weekly shop in the town we could save up to 2320 tonnes of CO2
per year? (This is based on 8000 people making 1 weekly trip to
Tesco at Copdock, in a medium sized petrol car for a year) source:
www.actonco2.direct.gov.uk/. The Environment is very much in the
spotlight at present and surely data such as this should be included
in any decision.
I have been a Hadleigh resident nearly all my life and understand
that there are two sides to any proposed development. Residents
of Hadleigh were not up in arms when the Co-op put in plans to
extend the current store, why was that? Is it because the Co-op
has always been there? Within Suffolk there are several towns
that are flourishing with two or more supermarkets and an array
of different shops, on the other hand there are some towns that
have seen a decline in recent years when more than one supermarket
has arrived. Hadleigh sees many visitors throughout the year,
stopping by to look at our wonderful buildings and the river.
The Brett Works site is an eyesore and whether Tesco builds on
this site or not it should be cleared up both for the benefit
of residents and visitors alike. Let’s hope that whatever
decision is made, it is made for the right reasons and benefits
Hadleigh and the surrounding area.
Darryl Brook
Dear Sir,
One of the Hadleigh Society members decided to look at the economics
of Tesco coming to Hadleigh and he turned up something rather
interesting. Using Tesco’s Annual Report for 2007 the following
figures were extracted. In 2007 Tesco sold £35 billion of
goods from 27million sq.ft of store or 2.5 million sq.m of store
representing average turnover of £14,000 per sq.m per year
in 2007. The proposed Hadleigh store’s area of 3055 sq.m.
Assuming that Tesco will want to produce a comparable turnover
it must therefore be expecting to sell some £42 million
per annum through Hadleigh. Tescos use a projected 2012 population
of 16,586 for the Hadleigh store’s catchment area giving
a per capita expenditure of over £2500 p.a. That is every
individual within the catchment area needs to spend over £200
per month, or over £50 per week to meet this figure. If
it assumed that even half of the catchment population visit the
store they would each have to spend £100 per week. A family
of four, two adults and two children would have to spend £400
per week or nearly £21,000 a year in just one store to match
Tesco’s average performance, which is clearly a nonsense.
Tesco is normally credited with having about a third of the whole
UK retail market, which, if so sends this individual family expenditure
figure even higher.
Tesco’s catchment area for Hadleigh is illustrated in their
documentation but conspicuously it does not show the existing
Tesco stores. It appears that the curious catchment shape is chosen
to increase the figures, but the reality is that people living,
for example, in Somersham, Flowton, Edwardstone, Hintlesham Assington
or Boxford are unlikely to travel to Hadleigh in sufficient numbers
to a smaller store or when they can go a shorter distance to a
nearer store on more convenient roads. To extend the catchment
area in any direction involves ’poaching’ Tesco customers
from another store anyway, Another interesting statistic has just
been produced which states that the average family spends over
£5,000 pa in a supermarket, a quarter of the figure expected
at Hadleigh. Put another way, the proposed store is far too big
and should be a quarter the size of the present plan, or in current
parlance it is non sustainable, before it’s even built,
a white elephant, or in Hadleigh’s case a pink one.
Yours sincerely, John Bloomfield, 49 Angel Street, Hadleigh
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Dear
Sir,
On reading letters in the June edition I have to say that I, too,
am sick and tired - of the constant assertions/assumptions that
everyone who shows opposition to the supermarket plans can be categorised
as wealthy, and can well afford car trips to shop outside Hadleigh.
This
is not so; participants in the Hands Off Hadleigh campaign come
from
all walks of life and many of us are ordinary people who are not
rich,
need to earn a living to pay the rent, or pick up their pension
from the Post Office. Hands Off Hadleigh is not run by The Hadleigh
Society but by campaign organisers who generate the energy to push
the aims forward, albeit with advice from The Hadleigh Society.
The aims
are to highlight for councillors, officers and the public the very
many reasons why the Riverside site is unsuitable for a supermarket
(by anyone) and to oppose the application.
IF a totally independent shopping survey was undertaken and showed
that the Hadleigh area needs a second supermarket, but on a different
site with better access, this would probably not be opposed in the
same way. For the convenience of another supermarket in this small
market town, on the proposed site, the whole community of Hadleigh
stands to suffer a vast increase in traffic and congestion, damage
to the environment both in town and beyond, and loss of shops and
amenities. Even those who contend that High Street shops will not
be affected by the coming of this supermarket must be aware of the
overwhelming facts long in the public domain - 30,000 closures of
high street businesses across the country in the 10 years to 2004,
directly due to supermarket openings.
Should the application be approved probably within two years we
would be in the same position as Sudbury and now Stowmarket, fighting
applications for extensions.
At the last count over 1400 survey forms have been lodged at Babergh,
95% showing that a supermarket on this site is not wanted. The forms
include individuals, couples and families, so probably 1500 - 1600
persons (almost a quarter of the population) are currently in opposition
to the plans, and further evidence may be seen from the many banners
and posters displayed in shops, houses and notice boards. The "so
called 600 rent a crowd" protest was formed from 100 supporters
meeting on Tuesday 15 April, who then went home and told members
of families, neighbours and friends, and with those who saw posters
in town, in three days to Saturday over 700 people gathered for
the march. And yes, these were predominantly Hadleigh residents.
With more time the numbers could have been much greater. The recent
revisions to the application do not amount to a bag of beans. The
proposal is still to destroy a protected building, devastate allotments
and build on a flood plain and conservation area, which will lead
to a theoretical car every 9 seconds in Bridge Street (if that sort
of speed were ever possible). Full information on the application
can be seen on www.hands-off-hadleigh.co.uk.
D.A. Parker
Castle Road, Hadleigh
Dear Sir,
The upturn in fuel prices has had its effect on the cost of living
for all of us,In particular our Hauliers who transfer goods across
the country. In the past few weeks, the price at the pumps for deisel
has risen to £1.30 a litre, 25p per litre more than those
on the continent, a further 32p per litre for an additive called
"Add Blue" a liquid that helps with carbon emissions.
British hauliers are going out of business weekly because of the
British Government’s legislation with regards to the digital
tachographs which are used by our drivers, which governs the amount
of hours at the wheel, where by continental hauliers are free to
drive longer hours.
The age of the British Haulier, disappear in a few years, and will
be replaced by 40 tonne trucks that will pound our roads and streets.
These trucks will really upset our carbon footprints. For those
who have used the term Carbon Footprint, as an excuse to try and
stop the build of a small Tesco store on the Brett Works Site, will
have to try harder. Five trucks per week to stock up a Tesco Store
on the Brett Work Site, will be insignificant compared to the thousands
of cars over the years, who, in pursuit of cheaper food, have burnt
tonnes of fuel getting to and back, from the four out of town food
stores this side of Ipswich. Footnote, I can recall as a child,
during the very dark days of World War 2 seeing plastered in many
places posters, with warnings on what, and what not to do.
When it came to the anti-Nazi, slogans, there was nothing more sinister,
"The Hands Off Hadleigh" posters have that same effect
on me, I don't like it!!!! At six I could read, If I couldn't understand
what was written on the posters, my mother would have explained.
John Caley
Dear Sir,
IT’S ALL IN THE PLANNING
I am sure some of your older readers will have at some time in the
past, driven through Hadleigh High street, small and compact, quite
adequate for the less than 3000 inhabitants. Or walked along the
stunning river walk with its tall slender trees, the silence only
broken by the calling of birds.
This was of course when Hadleigh had an Urban District Council with
its own Council Office in Toppesfield Hall, with councillors you
could talk and reason with. Its own Community Centre, East House,
not ideal, but it was open seven days a week with small rooms just
right for the many small groups and committees with larger rooms
for small concerts. Meals on wheels and meals in house for the elderly,
with a full time paid youth organiser?
We also held a lottery at 6 pence a ticket to build our own Swimming
Pool. What more could you ask for? Then along came Babergh with
its full time skilled planners. How has Hadleigh progressed? The
population has zoomed to 10,000 with the promise of 200 more houses
and every bit of space or large garden has another house. With all
the children now resident, the community centre is closed, council
offices are closed, and as for the swimming pool, after 40 years
is getting tired although used by 19 schools, we won’t replace
it. Naturally our quaint old high street at times becomes a nightmare
for the elderly to cross, so much so that they have had to put in
a Zebra Crossing! In little old Hadleigh. Now we are told that Tesco
is to be installed in the centre of town after two pervious attempts
were turned down and despite a majority not wanting it at all or
if it must come, it should be on the outskirts of town. This will
bring an extra 400 cars an hour in our high street. Just imagine
400 extra cars every hour!! That’s planning?!
One of the reasons Tesco has advanced for its intended arrival is
that in a survey hundreds of inhabitants said they did not shop
in Hadleigh, inferring that if Tesco arrive the carbon footprint
would be lower as all these people would stay and shop with them.
This is arrant nonsense, Hadleigh is now a dormitory town; the new
population go out of town to work and where they work they shop.
I suppose we shouldn’t blame the planners as they are told
that they have to build so many houses. With the present rises in
prices it is essential to take every care to buy goods as cheaply
as you can, but should you PAUSE A MOMENT to think about the future
as Tesco can afford to reduce their prices to combat any local trader.
Bert Keele
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