EVEN before Tesco has started work on its new Express store in Severn Road, local shopkeepers are seeing the writing is on the wall and leaving the area.

EVEN before Tesco's have started work on their new Express store in Severn Road, local shopkeepers are seeing the writing is on the wall and leaving the area.

Last week Keiron Morris decided not to renew the lease on his organic fruit and veg shop in Whitecross Road, due to the existing problems with parking and the threat of Tesco moving down the road.

It makes you wonder how North Somerset Council can have thought that parking was not going to be an issue when granting planning permission for the development of the new Express store, let along that a sixth store in Tesco Super Mare was going to be good for the local economy?

Our new campaign group held its first meeting last week, and is planning to hold a public meeting before the end of April - when we will ask representatives from Tesco and North Somerset to account for their actions or inactions.

Future demonstrations might follow at the main Tesco store, and we hope to link this with the national Tescopoly Campaign where resident groups across the country are starting to fight back.

If you want to pledge for support for the Stop Tesco Weston campaign, please contact our group at stopt-escoweston@hotmail.co.uk

PETER WILKINSON

Malvern Road, Weston