Shipston residents give their opinion on proposed new Sainsbury’s store ahead of public meeting in the town on Tuesday, 16th January
Go big or go home, seems to be the consensus to proposals for a new smaller-style Sainsbury’s in Shipston.
The supermarket chain announced last week that it hopes to build a ‘neighbourhood hub’ store at the corner of Tilemans Lane and Darlingscote Road. Currently the site is part of an industrial estate, and opposite the high school and leisure centre.
Shipston already boasts four branded grocery stores. Bizarrely this includes two Co-ops yards apart in High Street. One was once a Somerfield but was brought out by Co-Op and rebranded in 2009.
And just a few doors down from them is what one commentator referred to this week as “the world’s smallest Morrisons”. Until fairly recently it operated solely as a newsagents, but it became a ‘McColl’s Morrisons Daily’ after it was bought out by the supermarket giant as part of a national deal and rebranded last year.
In 2022, Pettiphers Garage, on the corner of Telegraph Street and the A3400, was knocked down to make way for a Tesco Express.
Before it submits plans to Stratford District Council, Sainsbury’s is hoping to curry local favour by inviting people living nearby to a preview its proposal during a public meeting in the town on Tuesday, 16th January. The plans will also be available to view online from that date at www.sainsburys-shipston.co.uk.
On the flyer invitation distributed this week, the supermarket said: “The new neighbourhood store would be of a modest size, with a shopfloor size of 628 sq m. It would help to meet the grocery needs of the people of Shipston, 75 per cent of whom currently travel outside of town for their weekly food shop, by encouraging them to shop locally rather than travelling into Stratford or Moreton.”
As well as the usual supermarket services and parking for 50 cars, the company is proposing a click and collect service which means you can order products from Sainsbury’s website, Argos and Habitat and pick up in store.
The company estimates that 40 full-time and part-time jobs would be created.
However, while some welcomed the proposals, many more took issue with it.
The main objections are to do with the proposed ‘hub’ not being big enough, and fears that it will not be competitively priced – and thus would not stop residents heading out of town to do the weekly shop.
The potential threat to local independent shops in the town centre was also a major concern.
Shipston residents took to Facebook this week to express their opinions about the proposals.
Ann Lynch was among shoppers of the opinion that Sainsbury’s proposals would still see her head out of town for the weekly shop.
She said: “I travel to Moreton Aldi every week as Co-Op prices are too high, but if the Sainsbury’s is no more than ‘a local’, like the Tesco Express which is much more expensive than a bigger Tesco, then I will still be travelling every week.”
Business owner Sara Walsh, who runs Shipston Therapy Centre on Market Place, expressed the fear that the location of the new store would draw trade away from town centre independents.
She said: “I can honestly say there are fewer people visiting the local town now than when we arrived two and a half years ago. One of the things that makes Shipston so appealing to people is the number of independent businesses not found in other towns. Please don't let your local high street die and become like ubiquitous Britain.”
However, even if Sainsbury’s gets strong local support, that doesn’t mean planning approval will be a shoo-in.
In 2012 a developer submitted plans for a big supermarket – 2,499 sq m – with associated petrol station and customer parking for the Campden Road development area. Despite around 70 per cent being in favour of the plans, the application was rejected after strong objections from Shipston Town Council and others.
Among those residents expressing the need for careful thought on the Sainsbury’s offering is Di Parnell, who observed: “Since moving here 30 years ago, Shipston has lost a police station with policemen actually in it, a hospital with beds, a petrol station and plenty more essentials services. But what Shipston has gained is more housing and more convenience stores!
“We need a supermarket where we can do a week’s shop locally under one roof with choice and reasonable prices and a car park so we do not have to lug a week’s supply of shopping home a couple of miles. A lot of us would shop at a supermarket in Shipston (not convenient store) rather than a trip out of town or online.”
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s told the Herald:
“In terms of the store size and offer, while it will be mid-sized compared to a larger supermarket, it will provide a much greater range than anything currently available in Shipston, carefully curated to enable people to complete a weekly shop there rather than travelling further afield, which we appreciate many of them currently do. It will have around 6,000 different products lines available in-store, with the full collection of Argos, Habitat and Tu Clothing available to order to via our Click & Collect service.
“We are also confident that the new store will be competitive on price – it will feature a range of promotions including special offers, multibuys and meal deals, as well as our Pocket Friendly Prices, which provide competitive everyday value across household essentials.”
