The Andover Advertiser first with the news
Protesters deliver megashed petition
8:58am Friday 15th August 2008
A PETITION signed by over 5,000 Andover residents opposing the possible Andover Airfield mega-shed development has been handed over to Test Valley Borough Council.
The borough's chief executive, Roger Tetstall, received the STOP! Alliance's 5,323-signature petition at Beech Hurst on Wednesday afternoon.
Members of STOP! have run a vigorous campaign opposing the Goodman development that would be used as a distribution warehouse by Tesco, and arrived at the hand-over carrying placards and dressed in black.
Rhonda Smith, STOP! chairman, said: "We've collected signatures from 12 per cent of the Andover population, which we hope will send a clear message to councillors when they make their decision.
"We are continuing to take petition signatures right up to the last day, and other people have handed in petition sheets directly, so there will be a big number to consider. We've said all along that a mixed-use business park will deliver a much better result for the area."
Andover MP Sir George Young, who has supported the campaign, added: "Five-thousand is quite a lot of signatures and the borough council is a democratically elected body, which needs to pay attention to what people feel."
Mr Tetstall said: "I'm sure the councillors will take into account all the material considerations when they come to considering the application."
Your Say YourAndover
anon, Andover says...
8:05pm Fri 15 Aug 08
Two votes less for him next time.
Martina, Andover says...
8:28pm Fri 15 Aug 08
The borough Council has to think of the jobs, especially as so many people are being made redundant.
The lorries might be a nightmare but that is something we need to deal with on a national leval and think of new ways to deliver our food.
As for low wages, we need to make sure that those that work for tesco get organised and join a union to ensure decent wages that they can actually live on.
Richard, Andover says...
10:50pm Fri 15 Aug 08
Its also funny how environmental concerns are only important when it means higher taxes for ordinary people not stopping big business.
Tesco and its agents can produce as many fancy projections showing it will work as they like from their offices in Chesnut, but if you drive on the A303 everyday, you know its a crazy idea.
If Andover (and its neighbours) lose its good road links then existing good companies will leave the town and new ones won't come.
No one's ever raised as many petition signatures as this before in Andover and I'd bet its one of the highest in the whole country.
Just remember as Tesco make golden promises to Andover people, their current hard working employees in Weybridge are facing closure as a result. Andover will save Tesco money, that the only reason they are coming. That can't be a good omen.
sarah, Andover says...
12:59pm Sat 16 Aug 08
TVBC totally ignored that petition when making it's decision to lease the Guildhall: they didn't even mention it in any of their reports that formed part of the decision making process.
Just to put the record straight!
A Drage, Andover says...
10:28am Sun 17 Aug 08
ness on the airfield to sustain real employment in the long term. It could be a business park, it could be leisuure and shopping facilties it could be a mixture. And any financial adviser who suggested that you should be all your savings into one basket/product would be doing you a serious dis-service. The Tesco solution for the airfield is no different. For the sake of Andover's medium to long term bests intersts the NAPC must say NO - Andover must say NO.
Anon, ANDOVER says...
11:26am Sun 17 Aug 08
A Drage wrote:Do you really expect us to believe that TESCO would invest time and so much money into a huge distribution project..just to walk away in the short to medium term?!! Mark my words, Tesco ARE coming and will make a real and positive contribution to the working people and town of Andover and its surrounding area.
Well done STOP! Why should we simply give in to TESCO? Think long Andover. In 10-15 years Tesco will dump this site and will walk away. And then what for the airfield and those who in the short term got jobs there? The only solution is multi-employers/busi ness on the airfield to sustain real employment in the long term. It could be a business park, it could be leisuure and shopping facilties it could be a mixture. And any financial adviser who suggested that you should be all your savings into one basket/product would be doing you a serious dis-service. The Tesco solution for the airfield is no different. For the sake of Andover\\\'s medium to long term bests intersts the NAPC must say NO - Andover must say NO.
Andy Peachey, Andover says...
7:10pm Sun 17 Aug 08
Andy Peachey, Andover says...
7:13pm Sun 17 Aug 08
A Drage, Andover says...
10:51am Tue 19 Aug 08
Bob W, Andover says...
1:22pm Tue 19 Aug 08
When I signed the Stop petition it was being run by a group of ordinary people not some massive polling organisation, so to get nearly 6,000 is incredible and shows the level of support the TVBC councillors should not ignore.
Also, I saw Tesco agents doing a poll in Andover back at the start of the summer trying desparately to encourage support for the megashed.
Those results have never been published.
I wonder if they weren't quite what was planned for?
Lucy, Andover says...
10:27am Fri 22 Aug 08
BARRY WHITTINGTON wrote:Exactly. These Stop people are obviously in very comfortable positions and don't need to realise that there's a recession on the horizon.
ANDOVER SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE GREAT SUCCESS STORY OF TESCO..WHATEVER YOUR POLITICS OR VIEWS, ONE CAN HARDLY IGNORE THE POSSIBLE EMPLOYMENT POSSIBILITIES FOR MANY IN THIS AREA OF HAMPSHIRE.IN THESE MARCHING TIMES, THAT IS A CONSIDERATION TO FOCUS UPON!!
Your sayYourAndover
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Megashed protesters' petition: Campaigners present a petition to chief executive of Test Valley Borough Council Roger Tetstall outside Beech Hurst. Also pictured is MP Sir George Young.
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BARRY WHITTINGTON, CHARLTON says...
7:40pm Fri 15 Aug 08