Co-op delays are “pathetic”, say residents

3:00pm Friday 25th January 2013 in News By Diana Henderson

Fire officers at the scene of a blaze which destroyed the Co-op store Fire officers at the scene of a blaze which destroyed the Co-op store

DELAYS by the Co-op in building a new store in Hamworthy is resulting in it losing the loyalty of customers, it is claimed.

Hamside Residents Association has written a strong letter to the regional planning manager of the Co-operative Group following a successful application to extend planning permission for the temporary cabin on Blandford Road, Poole for a further year.

The store burnt down in the late summer of 2007 and since then planning applications have been approved but no full size store has materialised, to the frustration of residents.

The letter, signed by Hamside secretary Ann Smeaton, points out that the Co-op had been the main food shopping outlet in Hamworthy for three generations, dating back to the 1930s and over the years had built up a sound loyal customer base.

The association has carried out a Placecheck for the area, seeking the views of residents on what could be improved, and both written and verbal responses highlighted a “complete dissatisfaction” at the way the replacement of the store had been managed, said the letter.

“Whilst residents appreciated the speed in which the temporary store was erected to provide just the bare essentials, they consider that five years is more than enough time to have rebuilt the store that was destroyed by fire.

“As a consequence, the Co-op is no longer seen as being worthy of loyalty because residents are unable to complete a comprehensive weekly shop at their local Co-op which has meant that they have been forced to travel in order to shop (generally to Poole) – using the Co-op only for emergencies.”

She described the reason given by the Co-op, of waiting to see if a supermarket was going to be built on the regeneration site as “pathetic” and said the former market leader should be leading, “not following”.

A spokesperson for The Co-operative Food said: “We are aware of the importance of our store to the local community and we are committed to improving the service we offer.

“We are currently finalising plans for the site and we hope to be able to confirm details soon. We would like to once again apologise to local residents for the delay with the rebuild project.”

Comments(11)

paul.p says...
4:03pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Co-op really needs to look at their business ethics. Not having a decent shop is one thing but high prices and the lack of variety is staggering across most of their stores.

One can only wonder what goes through the minds of those who are in charge...

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tramp_about_town says...
5:04pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Just in case anyone didn't realise, they are a private company and can do whatever they want. They may be waiting for the economy to settle, might have an offer from a developer in the wings, might be in negotiations over size etc etc etc. I suppose with most people over that way being so reliant on the taxpayer providing everything for them they probably think it's a Government food bank. They are providing a temporary shop so if you don't like it go somewhere else.

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MJD says...
6:10pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Before the new Co-op gets built Tesco will be open over the road.

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Letcommonsenseprevail says...
6:11pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Yeah, I bet Co-Op are quaking in their boots at the thought of losing a couple of customers.......

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benjamin says...
9:24pm Fri 25 Jan 13

Since the fire, the Co-op has had a cheap to run,open all hours, low man-power store. They will have lost trade to Lidl, but being able open from 7am to 10pm seven days a week, more than makes up for that. Why build a bigger store?

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LordLilliput says...
10:29pm Fri 25 Jan 13

tramp_about_town wrote:
Just in case anyone didn't realise, they are a private company and can do whatever they want. They may be waiting for the economy to settle, might have an offer from a developer in the wings, might be in negotiations over size etc etc etc. I suppose with most people over that way being so reliant on the taxpayer providing everything for them they probably think it's a Government food bank. They are providing a temporary shop so if you don't like it go somewhere else.
Quite right. If people want to moan or complain about something then I'd hope they choose something slightly more important than lobbying the opening of a supermarket..

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ilovepoole says...
7:54am Sat 26 Jan 13

LordLilliput wrote:
tramp_about_town wrote:
Just in case anyone didn't realise, they are a private company and can do whatever they want. They may be waiting for the economy to settle, might have an offer from a developer in the wings, might be in negotiations over size etc etc etc. I suppose with most people over that way being so reliant on the taxpayer providing everything for them they probably think it's a Government food bank. They are providing a temporary shop so if you don't like it go somewhere else.
Quite right. If people want to moan or complain about something then I'd hope they choose something slightly more important than lobbying the opening of a supermarket..
Whilst I agree, people around here shouldn't be complaining about a supermarket - there are far more important things that should be dealt with first. However, I do not agree that people like you should be allowed to get away with rubbishing the people that live in Hamworthy and putting the entire area in the category of 'non taxpayers'. I don't know who you are but you are very rude and obviously don't know what you are talking about!

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LordLilliput says...
9:48am Sat 26 Jan 13

ilovepoole wrote:
LordLilliput wrote:
tramp_about_town wrote:
Just in case anyone didn't realise, they are a private company and can do whatever they want. They may be waiting for the economy to settle, might have an offer from a developer in the wings, might be in negotiations over size etc etc etc. I suppose with most people over that way being so reliant on the taxpayer providing everything for them they probably think it's a Government food bank. They are providing a temporary shop so if you don't like it go somewhere else.
Quite right. If people want to moan or complain about something then I'd hope they choose something slightly more important than lobbying the opening of a supermarket..
Whilst I agree, people around here shouldn't be complaining about a supermarket - there are far more important things that should be dealt with first. However, I do not agree that people like you should be allowed to get away with rubbishing the people that live in Hamworthy and putting the entire area in the category of 'non taxpayers'. I don't know who you are but you are very rude and obviously don't know what you are talking about!
Me? What have I done?? My only gripe is about people who moan that they haven't got a supermarket!

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ilovepoole says...
10:54am Sat 26 Jan 13

LordLilliput wrote:
ilovepoole wrote:
LordLilliput wrote:
tramp_about_town wrote:
Just in case anyone didn't realise, they are a private company and can do whatever they want. They may be waiting for the economy to settle, might have an offer from a developer in the wings, might be in negotiations over size etc etc etc. I suppose with most people over that way being so reliant on the taxpayer providing everything for them they probably think it's a Government food bank. They are providing a temporary shop so if you don't like it go somewhere else.
Quite right. If people want to moan or complain about something then I'd hope they choose something slightly more important than lobbying the opening of a supermarket..
Whilst I agree, people around here shouldn't be complaining about a supermarket - there are far more important things that should be dealt with first. However, I do not agree that people like you should be allowed to get away with rubbishing the people that live in Hamworthy and putting the entire area in the category of 'non taxpayers'. I don't know who you are but you are very rude and obviously don't know what you are talking about!
Me? What have I done?? My only gripe is about people who moan that they haven't got a supermarket!
No, sorry - not you, I was agreeing with you!! So sorry x

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hamworthygirl says...
2:47am Mon 28 Jan 13

tramp_about_town wrote:
Just in case anyone didn't realise, they are a private company and can do whatever they want. They may be waiting for the economy to settle, might have an offer from a developer in the wings, might be in negotiations over size etc etc etc. I suppose with most people over that way being so reliant on the taxpayer providing everything for them they probably think it's a Government food bank. They are providing a temporary shop so if you don't like it go somewhere else.
Most people over what way? hamworthy consists of a lot people who have lived and worked here for years. I know most of them having lived here all my life. Please do not assume we are al non tax paying scroungers thats a very rude assumption. Back to the point of a new co-op, i think a lot of residents from the elderly dwellings would prefer a arger store as they rely on the co-op an cannot always get to poole or lidl. We cant all have cars to drive to asda or tesco and a local shop is vital for our community.

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noggath says...
9:18am Mon 28 Jan 13

This coop shed is unique its got its own public toilets in the main entrance
disgusting
if you get lost
just follow your nose
whole area pongs.

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