BY JESSICA CUNNIFFE
jessica.cunniffe@mk-news.co.uk
(media 1746)
Campaigners against a planned Tesco supermarket in Newport Pagnell made their feelings very clear in a unique parade.
On Saturday residents sought to show that building a Tesco supermarket on the Aston Martin Lagonda site in Tickford Street would herald the death of the town’s high street and heritage.
Just before midday they staged a funeral procession with a hearse carrying a coffin with ‘RIP High Street’ garlands followed by a cortege of classic cars and ghouls pushing trolleys filled with Tesco bags.
They passed temporarily boarded-up shops with ‘closed for business‘, ‘last days‘ and ‘everything must go’ signs, enacting the apocalyptic affect they argue the retail giant would have.
The high street’s requiem was the music of three marching bagpipers, its death rattle the sound of trolleys clattering over the Iron Bridge.
Leading the dirge was the ‘grim retailer‘, Tom Lonergan, chairman of the TESNO campaign group.
Wielding a scythe emblazoned with the words ‘every little hurts’, he said: "We’re not against Tesco, we’re just pro our high street. We don’t want a ghost town.
Retailers are living off the crumbs at the moment. If those crumbs are taken away the high street will die a death. We have a community here. You can’t buy one of those, and you can’t get one free."
Cleverly scheduled on the day of Bonham’s Aston Martin car sale, it was aptly given a ‘007 licence to kill…the high street’ theme.
TESNO is exploring plans to preserve the world’s oldest standing coach-makers, on which Tesco has applied to build a 15,000 square foot store.
The drive to stop it setting up shop is a matter of life or death for Harry Dhotar‘s Tickford Superstore, which he has run for 23 years.
"I’m well known here," he said. "But if Tesco comes it will ruin the whole town, and me. I would have to shut down."
One man who came to pay his disrespects to Tesco said: "I think it would be the death of the town centre. It would suck life blood out of it. Shops will go, people will stop using the high street. It will become like Wolverton."
Linda and Alan Piggott even postponed their holiday to Northumberland to attend.
Mrs Piggott said: "We love this town. Before we moved to Newport Pagnell 32 years ago we used to come on holiday here. We just don’t want to see it destroyed."
Town planner Mervyn Dobbin, Newport Pagnell resident of 30 years, said: "This is just the first phase. It’s about preserving something important. We are fighting Tescoisation."
A Tesco spokesman said that they are maintaining all the buildings with a view to seeing how they might be incorporated into their plans.
She said: "We believe the majority of people who live in Newport Pagnell are already leaving the town to do their main food shopping.
"We want to provide them with the option to shop locally and as part of our ongoing discussions with the local community, we want to explore how this can have a positive impact on the high street for local people and local businesses alike."