Richard
King, RLK Associates, Havant, Hampshire
www.rlkassociates.co.uk
28th November 2007
Proposed expansion of Tesco in Solent Road Havant
Dear Jackie Batchelor,
Planned Expansion of Tesco in Solent Road,
Havant
I understand that
Havant Borough Council is allowing late comments on the planned expansion of
Tesco in Havant.
Last Saturday, my wife and I walked over to the Solent Retail Park, having
parked in Waitrose; Jo had some Hobby Craft vouchers to spend, she wanted to
look at the children’s section in Next, as we have a new granddaughter, and
we wished to avoid the traffic in the area.
As is now normal in Solent Road, it would seem from our progressively less
frequent visits to the area, Solent Road was jammed with traffic. The roads
in the area are unable to cope with the retail facilities as they stand, let
alone with a greatly expanded Tesco.
Nowadays, I avoid Solent Road and Park Road South, as far as possible, or go
out of my way to avoid the junction between the two roads simply because it
is frequently so congested.
Even the unelected Havant and Bedhampton Community Board have managed to
highlight the traffic problem, going by a report in the Portsmouth News.
Retail facilities in Havant are becoming progressively more heavily biased
towards the west of Park Road, to the detriment of the rest of the Town, as
it is, without the proposed Tesco development. There are several empty shops
in and around the centre of Havant, plus the imminent closure of Street’s
store in East Street, Havant.
By the summer of next year we will have lived in Havant for twenty-five
years. In that time it has modernised but developed for the worse, in a
patchy and ill thought out way. Also, in that time, we have met a large
number of people in the Borough, though yet to meet one who has a positive
feel about Havant or its development, other than being a pleasant place to
live, apart from the way it is run, which is not for the residents or local
business.
When we go into Havant for shops, either we park in Waitrose, or a little
away from the centre of Havant and walk. Rather than becoming involved with
the Park Road, Solent Road congestion we might as well go to Chichester,
which happens to be larger, though, more than that, we prefer the layout and
the way it has been developed. In practice we, sometimes, go to Emsworth,
though only for small amounts of shopping. I suspect much the same goes for
many other people living this side of Havant.
From a personal business perspective, I had to go not just out of Havant but
out of Hampshire for business support, even though I, and now a close
colleague, are worth a fortune to Havant and the region. Fortunately, we are
now both out worldwide in a new book
"Past Life Tourism - Gateway to Bridging
Your Past and Future" by
Barbara Ford-Hammond (and at
Richard's Psychic Realm: Barbara
Ford-Hammond), as is my business adviser, who I came across
following meetings with Business Link Sussex and others, and appears in
Barbara’s book in a very unusual way; her real name will be in the
acknowledgements section of my book.
That is also why I tend to publish correspondence, such as this, on my
Richard's Journal Web Site.
Havant Borough Council habitually ignores my correspondence, or responds to
anything but the germane points in such correspondence, plus the selective
blocking of E-mails to Councillors by Council Officers. At least there is a
worldwide record that I tried to get something sensible out of the Council.
That came about partly through good fortune, though there is more to it than
that (see our own books in due course), contacts I developed in Sussex, plus
a couple of meetings with a Literary Agent in relation to my own book, an
abortive television recording, fellow Members of the
Scientific and Medical Network,
etc.
Admittedly, that is a little away from the Tesco development matter but very
relevant as a stark illustration of the small business unfriendliness of
Havant and the surrounding area; not that Hampshire is particularly
brilliant in many ways, the Chambers of Commerce and friends thereof being
its, almost sole, redeeming feature.
Going by other correspondence to the Council the majority of residents are
against the expansion of Tesco; though the residents in Blenheim Gardens
were against the heavy vehicles going to Copsey's Nurseries; the road is
breaking up and I was woken by a heavy lorry in the early hours of this
morning, yet again.
Havant Borough Council does not cater for Residents, local business,
developing business, or tourists, at least not the sort we could attract in
substantial numbers.
Perhaps Havant Borough Council will listen to residents and local business
on the matter of the proposed Tesco expansion, though I am not hopeful.
Regards,
Richard King
Richard King, BTech, MTech, CEng, MIMechE
Consultant Engineer
RLK Associates
Visiting University Lecturer in Engineering and Materials
Associate College Lecturer in Engineering Science and Materials
Member of
East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Healer, Psychic
Member of the Scientific and Medical Network
www.scimednet.org
Havant, Hampshire
Business
Web Site:
www.rlkassociates.co.uk
Richard’s
Psychic Realm:
www.richardspsychicrealm
Personal Web Site:
www.richardking.name
Et al
Copies:
Councillor Jackie Branson
Councillor Ray Bolton
Councillor David Guest
LocalShoLocal Campaign
Et al
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