Archived press release

Tesco decide's Sheringham's future - secret deal unveiled

27 June 2006

A legal agreement which could dictate the future of shopping developments in the Norfolk town of Sheringham will be scrutinised by councillors tomorrow (Wednesday 28 June) after secret documents were made public by the local authority. Friends of the Earth says the council's report into the deal is flawed and says the deal and others like it must be looked at by the Competition Commission under its current investigation of supermarkets.

North Norfolk District Council and Tesco signed a legal agreement in 2003 relating to the sale of land to Tesco which Friends of the Earth said effectively prevents rival stores from opening in Sheringham as it contains a clause preventing the council from promoting any competing development. The agreement also removes the opportunity for the local community to get involved in the planning process.

North Norfolk District Council will consider the implications of the agreement between the council and Tesco at a meeting tomorrow evening (Wednesday) when councilors will hear the results of an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the agreement and the reasons for it being kept secret for the past three years. The internal investigation has concluded that the council kept the agreement over the land sale separate from its planning functions but Friends of the Earth disagrees.

Tesco had applied to build a new supermarket in Sheringham, but councilors decided to refuse planning permission in 2005, subject to planning officers checking certain details of the reasons for refusal. But in April this year, the decision was overturned following advice given by officers in a secret part of the committee meeting. Friends of the Earth fears councilors were forced to overturn the decision as a result of the secret deal [1].

Friends of the Earth supermarket campaigner Sandra Bell said:

"It is shocking to find a local council allowing Tesco to decide on the future of retail development in its area. Throughout this long drawn out planning battle, Tesco has bullied the council into favouring its application for a new supermarket that could shut down the centre of this thriving seaside town.

"Now it has been revealed that Tesco has stopped the Council from drawing up plans with the local community for retail development on a site that is better linked to the town than its own proposed store. Tesco must not be allowed to ride roughshod over a local democratic process in this way."

Councillors will be told at the meeting that they can no longer go ahead with drawing up a development brief for a site in the town which planning officers consider to be a preferential location for a supermarket development.

The alternative brief should have been subject to public consultation with a view to its inclusion in the Councils new local plan (the Local Development Framework). The alternative Station Road Car park site is considered to be preferable in planning terms to the Tesco's site at Cromer Road because it is better linked to the existing town centre.

Rival store Budgens already has planning permission for a store on the Station Road Car Park site but the Tesco deal prevented the Council from selling the land to Budgens.

Tesco has admitted that this agreement is not the only such contract with a local authority [2]. Friends of the Earth considers the use of such contracts to be anti-competitive and will be calling on the Competition Commission to investigate their use in its investigation into the big supermarkets.

Notes

[1] This decision did not actually grant planning permission to Tesco because the application was at that time the subject of an appeal against non-determination. The appeal has now been held in abeyance and Tesco is expected to submit a new planning application to the council soon.

[2] Sunday Times 25/05/06

Calling the shots: How supermarkets get their way in planning decisions

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust