Not a headline you’ve seen here before…
But it’s merited this time because they have altered their application for 24-hour sales of alcohol to just 0730-2200 Mondays -Saturdays , 1000-1600 on Sundays, which are the hours they apparently intend to open for anyway.
So a pat on the back for Asda, and we hope there will be more opportunities in the future when we can say ‘well done’.
This feels like losing a pound and finding a shilling…..
Let’s hope that they do not apply sometime in the future for a 24 hr license when they think that the fuss has died down. Forgive me for being cynical but I do not trust them given their track record to date.
I understand the Asda application for selling alcholol is due for discussion tomorrow & that the Police were opposing the 24hr licence. If Asda hadn’t altered their application & the original one was discussed & turned down presumably that would have meant Asda wouldn’t have had a license at all for when they open in two weeks!
Heather, I believe the hearing is now cancelled because Asda backtracked to satisfy the police and other persons who made representations.
At least for once Asda haven’t tried to bulldoze their way through….
Chris
PS and no I’m NOT trying to wangle invitation to the grand opening!
I received a letter today from Asda’s solicitors to confirm the change in application, but they did stipulate that this DOES NOT in any way, prevent Asda from making a fresh application in the future, or from amending their opening hours – so I guess it really is a case of lets wait and see!
Ta for further info, am very suspicious re anything on Asda! Apologies for bad spelling in previous comment – I should wear my glasses.
Corey,
I think the letter you were sent says it all. ASDA reserve the right (which was handed to them on a plate when the council failed to recommend a condition on opening hours) to open for 24 hour trading whenever they like.
How do you feel about a petition to request that ASDA respect the wishes of their neighbours and make a commitment to NOT opening 24 hours?
Their response would confirm what kind of neighbour they intend to be.
Jackie,
I think that is a marvellous idea.
Good idea – who is going to make it happen, Jackie , is that yourself ?
ps: Heather – I think ASDA sell those cheap reading glasses…. ( sorry – could not resist, can’t have doom & gloom the whole time )
Good idea – who is going to make it happen, Jackie , is that yourself ?
ps: Heather – I think ASDA sell those cheap reading glasses…. ( sorry – could not resist, can’t have doom & gloom the whole time )
I live in Rawreth Lane directly opposite the ASDA development and tonight the ASDA illuminated sign was turned on for, what I believe, was the first time. I am grateful that my electicity bill is set to reduce substantially, provided of course that I choose to live my evenings in a shade of ASDA green!
When the Rayleigh Leisure centre floodlights were first introduced my children played shadow puppets on their bedroom walls. In that instance it only required a phone call to the centre manager for the lights to be adjusted. How do you adjust an illuminated sign and how can an individual seek redress in this case?
Signs are a good idea. They give out infomation but the question I ask is what is the point of a sign that is not seen by the people that it seeks to advertise to. If I wanted to advertise a store I would consider the most approprate and effective place to put it , not put it in the same old place as on every store (think outside the the box asda you must have an advertising dept ?). WHY are you showing a huge sign to a few houses when smaller signs facing the traffic in either direction would have more impact for you and less impact for the residents in Rawreth Lane?
Hi Bryan , I have already referred the Asda signs application to the Development Control Committee on Oct 25th….
I agree with you Bryan, and signage would be better placed facing the flows of traffic – both signs, the illumanated facing you and your neighbours along Rawreth Lane, and the stickers facing our housing along Priory Chase, are really ridiculous – like any of us really need reminding that they are there!
The signage is ridiculous and does need looking into – although let’s face it – with the way RDC have worked recently, I doubt anything with change.
In case you were wondering what ever happened to the meeting that was promised by ASDA back in March/April once the manager was appointed, just to let you know that I have left a message on his mobile phone asking when this will take place, and stated that obviously this would be BEFORE the store opened.
As and when I hear from him, I will post any response (and date of the meeting, if there is going to be one) on this site.
Corey/ Steve/ Anyone else who cares,
I am more than happy as an affected resident to play my part in putting together a petition. If either/ both of you, or others wish to do something then lets meet up and organise a response. ASDA have large numbers of people paid to fight their case. If we want to put up a fight then I’m afraid it will mean spending some of our hard earned spare time in doing so. Are you up for it?
Corey, I was told by “Lee” who delivered the letters regarding the double yellow lines that there was not going to be a meeting. My husband has made attempts during the past month to speak to Mr Featherstone regarding the meeting we were promised in April without success and has now been told to write and it will be dealt with by Head Office.
Hi Jane, thanks for letting me know – I guess this is just another empty promise made by ASDA – they are certainly starting to stack up now aren’t they!
Jackie, I am definately up for it!
Tut Tut – Asda almost breached planning BEFORE the store opens!!
I have just witnessed a lorry turn up at Asda to deliver tin goods (it was 11:05pm) – naturally I went out to have a moan – The lorry driver announced he was there to make a delivery, and I announced that I was there to tell them they were in breach of planning – needless to say, Colin (who I assume to be a deputy manager) advised the lorry driver he could not accept the delivery.
What transpired from all of this is that the delivery depot, knew nothing of any restrictions on delivery times. How typical.
My departing words to Colin (who was most polite) was to advise the Manager that I wanted a reply to the message I left today, and that the local residents want to meet with him before the store opens.
If Asda are going to be the perfect neighbours, he will meet with us.
Wake up!!
Asda has a team of powerful lawyers (who expolited ever planning loop hole) / PR people and is part of a large American comany (wal-mart) that last year had a turnover of $364,000,000,000. ($364bn) more than the National Income of most medium sized countries. What ever happened to the community building that was supposed to be provided by asda????
The choice is either stop moaning like a pathtic bunch of spoilt lower middle class nimbies or stand up and protest.
The store opens on the 29th of Oct. Is there going to be a protest? What are our councillors doing about it or are they more concearned about getting their free £10 gift voucher and photo taken when they turn up to cut the ribbon.
I for one phoned their head office in leeds and have left messages for there proprty people to contact us …and been ignored. I have been waiting for a jonathan refory (who is in charge of property pr / asda community relations ) to return my calls for almost 6 weeks now. The local asda managers are not the people who take the decisions….the ones who do that are IGNORING us!
Can we get TV down here and expose what Asda are doing?
Matt
I think you are right to say that if people are unhappy then they should try to do something about it. I have suggested a petition to ask that ASDA give up their right to open 24/7. It strikes me that individual action to date has had very little effect. If you want media coverage then the residents need to be doing something to make them want to talk to us.
Matt, just to make it clear. Neither of the ward councillors – Ron or Chris – will be at the opening….
Matt,
Just to point out that this spoilt lower middle class nimbie has been in contact with their head office, their solicitors, their building contractors and the Store Manager, who by the way IS the decision maker if the store is to open 24 hours, and am slowly making progress.
You have the right to a peaceful demonstration, but I doubt you will get the results you want not when there is and I quote you as saying “a team of powerful lawyers (who expolited ever planning loop hole) / PR people and is part of a large American comany (wal-mart) that last year had a turnover of $364,000,000,000. ($364bn) more than the National Income of most medium sized countries. ” you will get nowhere, and create nothing but bad press for us who are trying something, and you will in fact undermine everything that we have been doing – please note that I have nothing to do with the council, just a really fed up resident.
Jackie and I met this afternoon, and have a plan to put into action, which is pending my meeting with the Store Manager tomorrow afternoon.
So please stop calling us names when are actually doing something about it.
For reasons that will become clear as you read, I am making this posting as Anonymous. ASDA have so far breached planning regulations on more than a dozen occassions. I have already logged some of the breaches to RDC, and both their planning and Environmental Health Depts are investating the breaches. Suffice to say, deliveries are being made at 6am and past midnight. To put this into context, planning regulations state that deliveries can only be made between the hours of 7am and 11pm, and any lorry must vacate the site by 11pm. It would also be worth noting, that lorries have been spotted as early as 5am waiting to gain entry to the store.
It will also be interesting this evening when the store opens at 00:01 for Christmas Eve shoppers if alcohol will be on sale, I have not seen an application for an extended license for this period, for that matter nor have I seen an application for extended opening hours, which thus far have been 07:30 -00:00 Thursday through Saturday, an additional 30 minutes on Sunday and earlier opening of 00:01 on Christmas Eve. What is interesting to note here, is when I met with the Manager prior to the store opening, I was advised that there was only to be 2 evenings of late night openings and nothing more. I would be interested to hear from properties closer to the entrance of the ASDA store to hear if they have been inconvenienced in any way by the longer store opening?
If these extended opening hours go unopposed, this could pave the way to the store going 24hours as per their original application. What is interesting to note is that the extended opening hours had not been advertised except for the Saturday opening on an A board by the entrance to the store, and I only discovered the additional extensions by listening to the automated message when I called the store.
I have seen the additional nationwide opening hours of Asda being advertised in national newspapers this weekend.
We have enough depressive news in the local paper delivered Monday – Friday (in which it WAS NOT advertised in). The point however, is that ASDA had stated to the local community that it would only be open to midnight on 2 nights, NOT 3, and it did not state that it would be open from midnight tonight, please bear in mind that this is supposed to be a community store, NOT an out of town supermarket like Sainsburys at the Weir or Tesco in either Southend or Basildon, it is in a residential area.
Bottom line is that it is OK for you Canterbury Close Resident, your bedroom is not next door to a supermarket. Sleep well tonight won’t you – WE WON’T BE …… AGAIN!!
I think they should change the name of the store from ASDA to ASBO……
Couldn’t agree with you more Rayleigh Resident
……………… BUT my neighbours have a display of bright flashing Christmas lights that would give Asda’s a run for their money – AND they are flashing on and off all night!!!
However, I would add that I was merely pointing out what I had seen in the national press – please do not shoot the messenger!!
Canterbury Close Resident, my apologies, upon rereading my thread, I did come across a little harsh!!
Apologies accepted Anon.
It really does seem that ASDA (or the rather aptly renamed ASBO) have no concept of what it is to be a good neighbour!
Despite several of us (myself and my neighbours) complaining to ASDA (I spoke to Luke) and having promises of the graffiti spray painted on the service yard wall removed. I am some what dismayed that 3 weeks after I spoke to them it is still there. Naturally the graffiti on their signage facing towards Hambro Hill was cleaned off almost immediately.
Does anyone know if there is a law or local by-law that can force them to removing the graffiti – it doesn’t matter what window I look out off, I have the displeasure of seeing it!
Not bad – 2nd well done to ASDA in almost 6 months.
ASDA have finally said farewell to giving plastic bags away with the shopping – it’s now a similar scheme to Tesco’s Bag for Life Scheme.
This has two very positive effects – one ASDA bags won’t be filling landfill and taking forever to decompose and secondly as we have no bins or road cleaners in Priory Chase / Temple Way, my garden will no longer be the place for abandoned plastic bags to end up!!