Great News from Tesco on Englishcombe Lane Site

1.24.45pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 6th Aug 2008

The last obstacles to the redevelopment of this site have now been removed and the community and Tesco are looking forward to a new Tesco Express store in the Kingsway area of Bath.

Cllrs Crossley and Romero with Juliette Bishop of Tesco

Following delays to the project caused by the Environmental Assessment not being signed off by the Council, local residents were getting frustrated by the lack of news and the apparent stop to the development.

Now Cllr Romero and Crossley are meeting with Tesco to discuss the next phase of the development on Tuesday 5 August at 2 p.m..

Cllrs Crossley and Romero appealed to Tesco to be a good neighbour and complete the new build in early July. Tesco immediately contacted them to explain the delay was due to a hold-up in the Council and this was swiftly resolved by Cllrs Crossley and Romero.

Cllr Crossley has welcomed the movement on this issue and commented, "Kingsway used to have a variety of shopping outlets which over the years have disappeared one by one. The local community are excited by the arrival of the new Tesco Express and just want it built as quickly as possible. A derelict petrol station is not what we want to see."

Cllr Romero added, "We are pleased to have been able to work quickly with Council staff to resolve the issue of the environmental condition from planning so swiftly. We will now work with Tesco and the contractor to ensure there are no more hold-ups."

In a conversation with Cllr Crossley, Juliette Bishop, Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager confirmed that preparation work on site would start this week (week commencing 4th August 2008) and construction of the store would commence next week and told him:

"We hope very much that this store will be ready to open before Christmas. After the hold-up of the environmental report in the Council, we are now looking forward to working with the Council, local people and the Councillors to get the store completed. Tesco attaches a great importance to being a good neighbour in the community and we look forward to serving the residents of Kingsway and surrounding areas and becoming part of the community. We would also like to thank the local residents and Councillors for the support we have received.