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Suffolk seaside town fighting against chain stores

Retailers and residents in the Suffolk seaside town of Aldeburgh are to fight against an invasion of national chain stores.

The plans to fight come after Tesco has revealed plans to build a new store on Saxmundham Road and it is understood that an application has been submitted by Boots to the NHS for a 100 hours per week pharmacy in the high street. In order to compete with the Boots store, the local pharmacy would have to open much longer hours and on a Sunday if it was to stand any chance against the national chain.

There are rumors that WH Smith, who already have 550 stores on Britain’s high streets, and the Caffè Nero are also exploring new business opportunities in the area.

Aldeburgh is famous for music and the arts with the Aldeburgh Festival being set up by Benjamin Britten in 1948 and an annual Poetry Festival but local businesses and residents are worried that an influx of national chain stores will led to a loss of identity for this treasured seaside town.

Naomi Tarry, Chairman of Aldeburgh Business association told the East Anglia Daily Times: “The town centre is a vibrant place to live, work and visit because of its uniqueness, because it is different to the majority of high streets in the UK.”

A meeting was held by Aldeburgh Town Council on Monday to discuss Tesco’s plans but no representative from the company was present. NHS Suffolk have said that they can neither confirm or deny that an application has been submitted by Boots.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Francesca Dent .