New supermarket bid?

Published 10 Mar 2010 14:17 9 Comments

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By Ewan McInnes

A GLOBAL supermarket chain has been selected as the 'preferred bidder' to develop a new supermarket in Barrhead.

After a lengthy process to find a suitable company East Renfrewshire councillors have agreed on a supermarket, believed to be Tesco, with whom the council will begin negotiations.

Tesco, which already has a supermarket in the Westbourne Shopping Centre, has confirmed to the Barrhead News that it has submitted a bid to the council as part of a tendering process for a site in Barrhead.

For some time council bosses have been looking for a satisfactory company to develop a brand new 7,000 sq m supermarket next to the town's sports centre and the council has revealed there is now only one company it will hold discussions with.

Regeneration convener, councillor Tony Buchanan said he could not reveal if Tesco had been selected by the council. He said: "Although the preferred bidder can't be named at this stage for commercial confidentiality reasons, we've instructed our director of environment and his staff to enter into detailed negotiations.

"These negotiations will aim to get us the best deal for the town that will help to deliver on the regeneration plans we've been working on."

Tommy Reilly revealed that Barrhead Community Council (BCC) are undecided on whether a new Tesco in the town is a good idea and would like to know who the rival supermarket bidders are.

The chair of BCC said: "I don't know who the other bidders are but they possibly could've created more competition and better prices for people in the town.

"The council need the money from the supermarket to carry out the regeneration in the town.

"But is it therefore going to cause a bit of dereliction at Tesco's current site?

"I am not entirely decided on this one way or the other.

"Will we just end up naming Barrhead 'Tesco Town'?

"That sounds negative, but it might end up being a perfectly good thing.

"Some members of the public have approached me to say a separate supermarket would have resulted in extra jobs and competition.

"But if a new Tesco is built it might have a negative impact on the shops in Main Street.

"Barrhead Community Council do have some concerns through dialogue we have had with the public."

Doug Wilson, Tesco corporate affairs manager, said: "We recently submitted a bid as part of a tender process for a council-owned site in Barrhead.

"We have not received official confirmation of the outcome of the bid process and we are therefore unable to comment further at this stage."

This article appeared in Barrhead News 10 Mar 10

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

deborah anne mcguigan
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Mar 10, 15:25
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hi where are they planning on building the new supermarket? is it near the dams the massive spare bit of ground there? from deborah

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ro
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Mar 10, 17:43
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bring back food giants, couldnt beat food giant.

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Kenny Rankin
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Mar 10, 21:10
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I'm not convinced that a Tesco "warehouse" dominating the sports centre side of the Main Street will enhance the look of the town. Plus you have to consider the potential dterimental effect on the shops currently located on the Main Street and the impact to traffic flow.

You just have to look at the Tesco Extra in Port Glasgow to see how a badly chosen site can ruin the visual appeal of an area.

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Jen
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Mar 11, 11:18
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What is the point of having 2 Tescos in Barrhead, and another very close by in Silverburn?

They should make an actual shopping centre at this site, with a few clothes shops etc.

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Don
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Mar 11, 14:41
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A new Tesco?Its a no brainer,old tesco gets run down or closed new one damages main st shops fragile economy,you need a competitor,drive down prices and gives choice...shouldnt have to be who pays biggest backhander.It would run down the economy in the end,do the calculations,the facts are all around you,kenny your spot on,this is madness,unless there are no rivals bidding,but im sure there are.Please do the math and look a couple of years ahead,its a bad idea.It blocks any progress and will cause loss in the end whichever way you look at it.

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Kenny Rankin
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Mar 11, 21:31
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Ii agree with Don, I suspect that this is about one Tesco in a "prime" location,and keeping out the competition. Main St shops will suffer, Main St suffers aesthetically and Kelburn St store would ultimately close . Barrhead can't sustain two Tesco's. Tesco did retain a Tesco Extra in Greenock when they built the new Port Glasgow Store but I suspect this was more to do with keeping the competition out ( Inverclyde is currently an Asda free zone.

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D Kilcullen
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Mar 15, 11:30
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If this supermarket really is Tesco, then we should be worried. We need competition, otherwise all that will ever be here is Tesco, and then they will control prices. Why can't we get a Sommerfield or an Asda? It would be nice to have a bit of choice in the actual town without having to go all the way to Glasgow.

That aside, that are loads of supermarkets near Barrhead. Can we not get something else that will bring jobs? A cinema. A bowling alley. Even a decent fast food option.

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mrgt
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Mar 17, 23:53
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Why didn't they ask the folk of Barrhead. A straw poll around the doors. When I came to Barrhead at first, there were many good shops. Now? Increasing lack of choice. We need a supermarket name that people from out of town will want to come to, in order to generate business and interest in our town. And that name isn't Tesco.

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gbe
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Mar 18, 13:58
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"tescosisation" is a bad thing period!!! The Main St will be a worse off place for that monster, and be rest assured that the small shops and outlets in and around Barrhead will close leaving the main throughfare of barrhead looking like a back street of a New York suburb, evntually these existing shops/buildings will lie vacant and crumbling and they will eventually be knocked down to makeway for either housing or dual carriageway..eitherway when the vortex of tesco moves into an area you can kiss goodbye to the local community and its economy.

ps...they ain't that cheap either.

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