Massive Response to Tescos Petition

18.12.06

A massive petition against Tesco's proposed new megastore at Tolworth has been submitted to Kingston Council by Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton, with a promise from the MP of "more to come".

By the official deadline for responses to the application last Friday (15th December), Edward Davey's petition, including his online version, had been signed by over twelve hundred local residents, but the Lib Dem MP said "more were coming in every day" to his office. Since the application was published, Edward Davey has led the opposition to this proposal, speaking out at the first public consultation meeting in mid November. He has since written to over 9,000 households, launched a campaign website called "Every Little Hurts", attended the second public meeting, met with residents privately to discuss his campaign and raised a range of questions, including with the Office of Fair Trading.

Edward Davey MP said:

“The response to my petition has been staggering. It's absolutely clear that the overwhelming majority of local residents are against this proposal.

"The comments I've received from local people show that traffic congestion and air pollution are two huge worries. There must be a fear of total traffic gridlock if these plans were to go ahead. Already local air quality exceeds the maximum safety levels for pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide, and this type of pollution can really damage people's health.

"I've also written to Kingston Council setting out the key reasons why I think this application would break the law if it were approved. The main reason is that the Council's own plan - a legal document - designates this area for housing and community use only. So the Council have wisely given themselves strong legal grounds for opposing such a damaging application.

"I'm also delighted by the number of residents who have visited our website - www.everylittlehurts.org.uk  - and am grateful for those who have sent me so many helpful comments."