19th August 2009

Dear Editor

Last Monday Banner Cross saw a real victory in the refusal of the
supermarket application for the Gilders site (Star 11 August). But
Pete Sutherland of Gilders says "Residents seem to have got the wrong
idea what we want to do. This isn't going to be a Sainsbury's or Tesco
- we want to build a food store that we are going to run ourselves"
(Star 13 August). Pull the other one Pete, you're a car showroom not a
grocers! Amongst staff at Gilders it was common knowledge that
Sainsbury's were the supermarket chain with eyes on the site. Maybe if
Gilders spent more time speaking to local residents and less time
bending the ear of planning officers they might have found a viable
scheme. Local people wouldn't mind houses and a couple of small shops,
but we don't want a supermarket that pushes out the family owned
businesses we are fortunate to still have in Banner Cross and Silver
Hill.

Smaller supermarkets like that proposed for the Gilders site and the
Broadfield Tesco store are part of a strategy by national supermarket
chains to get, not just the weekly shop, but every pound we spend. And
every pound we spend in a chain store is another pound taken from
family businesses and local shops that employ more people, spend more
money locally, and are often cheaper as well! Sheffield Green Party
applaud councillors for standing up to supermarket development in
Banner Cross and Crookesmoor, but other districts have not been so
lucky. Over on Abbeydale Road, local shops are suffering because the
supermarket there got built (Star 8th August). Planning officers who
supported that and the Gilder's development need to open their eyes to
the damage supermarket chains are doing to our local economy.

Yours etc

Jason Leman
Banner Cross