Case against new shopping centre development
It has just been announced that a major developer is seeking planning permission to build a shopping centre on the edge of the town and that the town council is likely to agree to this proposal. A protest group has been formed to mount a campaign against such a development and I am very much on the side of the protesters.
For a start, we already have quite enough places to purchase things in this area. We have the local shops, we have the city shops just a bus ride away and we have a shopping mall in the next town, again just a short bus ride away. We simply do not need more shopping facilities in this area.
Then there is the issue of increased traffic. The town council is always going on about the terrible traffic problems in this area. It has been urging us all to leave our cars at home and to either walk or take public transport so that we may avoid the current congested roads. Yet, now it appears to be in favour of a development which can only increase the level of congestion. Of course, there is to be a huge car park at the proposed new shopping centre.
We also have to take into consideration what effect a new shopping centre in the area would have on the viability of our own high street shops. At the moment, despite the proximity of the city, many of them have no shortages of customers and so are thriving businesses. However, there is a distinct disincentive for people wishing to make purchases from such shops.
There is a major parking problem for people wishing to shop in the centre of the town, thanks to the strict parking restrictions imposed by the council. Given the choice of shopping with their cars or shopping without them, I fear that many shoppers will opt for the former and make for the new shopping centre rather than the local shops. Such a loss of business will have extremely unfortunate consequences for local shops and some of them may go to the wall. That would be a tragedy for the community.
Another tragedy for the community would be the damage to the environment that a building development like this is likely to cause. There are very few pieces of land in this area that are not built up and the area scheduled for the shopping complex is one of these. It is not an especially pretty place, but it provides a habitat for plants and animals and it offers some relief from the crowded built-up areas around. In addition, more cars driving into that area will add significantly to the pollution of the atmosphere.
The developers are arguing that their proposed shopping complex will not only provide local people with more retail choices but that it will provide local jobs. However, the extra jobs may well be at the expense of jobs in the high street shops if they have to close. I will give as much support as possible to the protesters and hope that the shopping centre does not get planning permission.
