It's good to hear that there's an active group which is meeting tomorrow that is concerned about this issue.
It is complex.
I suspect that there is a need from a substantial number of people who live in Ulverston for a low cost supermarket as an alternative to Booths.
However the above location is definitely not the place for it.
I was wrong to think that a modern supermarket could work alongside the existing shops we are talking of chalk and cheese.
This proposal requires the use of the space of the present Brewery Street Car Park which is vital to the small shops in the town: the underground car park in the proposal only caters for 100 cars.
I agree with the writer in the Evening Mail that the creation of a modern supermarket on this site would be a disaster for the image of the town. There is so much potential for the attractive use of this space with the old buildings that are here.
Far better for the town in the long term would be to increase the attractiveness of this area which is what visitors will first see of our town centre as the approach on the A590.
Far from encouraging a dominance of cars in this location, would it not be far more attractive for locals and visitors alike to be able to enjoy the Town Beck as it travels unseen below this space? Surely we should be opening up the beck, planting some trees beside it and encourage people to enjoy this part of town at their leisure.
This site has so much more to offer the town particularly in well designed small houses and accomodation for the young and old who already live in the town.
Quality of life is one of the most important things that Ulverstonians can have in these depressing times.
9 comments:
Now that is a much better idea.
How quaint is a supermarket ,how charming is a supermarket?
Oh what a lovely attractive trolly shiney. and new.
Lets build attractive affordable homes on the site instead of green fields. Perhaps a 24 hr toilet!
Cash for shareholders, more parking fees for the Kendal coffers.
Money going out of town foreveryes it won't cirulate around the locality.
JAK
Let`s just suppose that a budget supermarket decided to open a branch in Ulverston and they commissioned a poll to ascertain where we wanted it to be positioned. Where would YOU pick?
Good question.
Any opinions?
First thoughts.
If it's a supermarket, you would go in a car.
If it is accepted that supermarkets and local shops don't benefit each other.
Then it needs to easy to reach but could readily be two miles out of the centre.
Conclusion make the town centre easy and attractive to move around on foot or bike. Shops here should be as different from what you find in a supermarket as possible. They should encourage users who have a bit of time to spare, who enjoy talking to people or just enjoy a good brouse in a relaxed atmosphere. Keep this area as vehicle free as possible.
Put Supermarket outside of the town where that above criteria are not seen as desirable.
Separate fast convenience shopping from relaxed people oriented activities.
Erm...out of town retail development has ripped the heart out of every town subjected to it...without exception!! Barrow, for instance, used to be a marvellous town centre, with more "quirk" than Ulverston could ever aspire to...now look at it! A Lidl or an Aldi on the brewery site, with sympathetic architecture would fit the bill, and no doubt make the current lamentable food purveyors in the town buck up a bit!
Aren't we in fact dealing with something the public actually want?
"Ripped the heart out of" is rather an emotive way of saying that every town has chosen to change in this direction. Shoppers in fact vote with their feet.
Isn't the challenge to incorporate change in the best way to accommodate the needs of as wide a group possible as possible?
Can we not accept what has happened across the country but in our own way. One that preserves the character of our town centre?
We are indeed. If it's true that 70% of the disposable income of Ulverston residents goes to Barrow then that is a huge amount of money and "footfall" lost to the town. This figure would also underpin the fact that we are woefully provided for in terms of food shopping, as well as being crippled by SLDC car park charging(look at all the empty spaces now in all the car parks)
I believe the argument for an economy food mart is compelling, as competitive food pricing has been denied to us for too long, plus, the attendant free parking will attract far more footfall to the town centre, and resultant loss in parking income to SLDC may require them to think again, although I wouldn't hold my breath on that one!!!!
Wherever it is sited it won`t suit everyone, that`s the nature of the beast. Perhaps down North Lonsdale Road? There are of course problems down there, not least flooding, and you may ask what have the residents done to deserve such an imposition but, it is now an industrial estate area and the traffic to Glaxo is much diminished. Perhaps somewhere on Croftlands as it is a huge population area. The filling station up there can`t surely go on forever, I don`t know how it survives at the moment and I suspect the Lancastrian is also becoming vunerable to the economic downturn. Estate pubs and stand alone filling stations are becoming rarer these days. Money grabbing councils can also be tempted to sell land earmarked for recreational use to commercial interests so Central Drive football pitch could be another possibility.
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