Proposed Tesco Store, Viaduct, Carlisle

Submission by Eric Martlew, MP for Carlisle

Viaduct Estate Road, Carlisle
Appeals By Tesco Stores Limited
Tuesday, 24 April 2007

Thank you for allowing me to give evidence in this Public Inquiry. I wish to oppose the planning application for an extended Tesco store on the Viaduct Estate Road and to comment on the reserve matters of the smaller proposal which already has planning permission.

Firstly, May I give you some brief biographical details.

I was brought up in the City and was first elect as a Councillor for Denton Holme in 1972 (the ward neighbouring this development and which will be badly affected). On Local Government reorganisation I represented the same ward until 1988 as a County Councillor and I served 2 years as Chairman of the County Council.

In 1987 I was elected to Parliament. I will, this year, have served 20 years representing my home city and will have represented the people of Denton Holme for 35 years. You can take it from this that I know the area quite well.

Before being elected to Parliament I worked as a manager for a large multi-national company.

From the very start I have been opposed to any supermarket development on this site.

I was critical of Carlisle City Council when it granted planning permission as I believed - and still do - it was a totally inappropriate location and if developed would lead to severe problems for the city.

The issues are as I see them.

Threat to local shops.
Even though I know that area like the back of my hand - as a courtesy to this Inquiry - I spent all day yesterday visiting the site and those areas which will be worst affected.
Denton Holme has a thriving retail presence and
has managed up until now - to withstand the competition of the current superstores.
But the existence of a 24 hour/7 day a week store less than ½ mile away will severely impact the commercial viability of the neighbourhood shops. Many only exist by the long hours they open.
I would also argue that this development would even have an adverse impact on the local convenience stores at Boundary Road in the adjoining ward of Currock.
With regard to the original and long established Tesco store, it serves part of the community which relies most on public transport. This allows them to undertake a wide-ranging shop - that is not available in Tesco Express stores.
Their proposals for public transport to the new store are superficial. It isn't as though they don't want buses to go to the stores - as they do - the reason they are not proposing this is that the road network is so inadequate - and even they accept they cannot take buses down there.
The alternative is to have bus stops on the hill leading up to the viaduct railway bridge - presently on double yellow lines. No room for a bus lay-by therefore when buses stop - all traffic would be forced to stop behind them. Remember not a quick stop - people getting on with bags full of groceries. The next bus stop just about 200 yards up the road - right outside the existing store.

Leads on to another major objection - traffic congestion.

The increased volume of traffic would have a disastrous impact, both in the locality of the development and throughout the city itself.

Indeed, the recent improvements of an additional lane to Nelson Bridge has not had a major impact on traffic flow. It is still a bottleneck and local motorists will avoid, if possible.

The development will create traffic chaos.

The James Street, Victoria Viaduct, Denton Street, Charlotte Street, Shaddongate junctions are currently so overused at many times during the day as to create bottlenecks, which has a knock on affect on traffic on Castle Way, Georgian Way and the city centre through-routes. Additionally, traffic will try to avoid using the Viaduct junction by going under the railway arch. This is a blind junction which, due to the size of the arch, cars have to drive in the middle. It would probably mean traffic lights on the arch. It would also generate more people walking through. There is no pavement and this would increase the traffic hazard. Any increase in traffic up English Damside will add to the already constricted and congested roads around Court Square and the Citadel Station.
A further problem will be the increased left turn from Castle Way down to the Viaduct Estate. This is a narrow one-way road with a blind turn, which even at present creates a problem for pedestrians and cyclists using the cycle lane. You would probably need a controlled crossing at this point - again causing back-up and the main dual carriageway West.

The problems caused by traffic congestion in the City is such that in 2004 I called a Traffic Summit which was attended by City and County officers and Councillors, Department of Transport, Stagecoach and the local taxi association. The County, as Highway Authority were so concerned they appointed a Traffic Tsar for Carlisle.

This is why I find it difficult to accept the County Council's initial Traffic Assessment for the area. However there was a perception of a conflict of interest as the original landowner.

I feel that if this plan is given the go-ahead the gridlock will be such that the only solution would be for Cumbria County Council to impose some form of congestion charge just to keep the City moving. I don't think this is what they would have had in mind when they sold the land.

I do however accept that there is a need for another supermarket. Looking at the locations of our existing ones - 2 in the north and 1 in the east - it would seem logical to site one in the South West of the City.

This would result in the people living in the west of the city using the roads to go out of the city - thereby avoiding coming through the centre.

People coming from the villages and towns to West e.g., Thursby, Wigton, Dalston, would not need to go through the city centre.

But if permission is given for this Tesco application it would use all the capacity and nothing would be built in the west of the city.

Another major concern is the actual siting of this proposal and the visual impact it will have on the historic core of the city.

Many people gain their initial impression of Carlisle from the train.

If coming from the north - you cross over the beautiful river Eden, the finest salmon river in England, you see the rolling parkland of the Sheepmount and Bitts Park, then the impressive Norman Castle, to the right there is the listed building of the old brewery, then the ancient West Walls, the Cathedral and St Cuthbert's and the ancient steps at the Sallyport. Then you can see the turrets of the Citadel then into Carlisle Station. A fine example of Victorian railway station.

But what these proposals will do is to add an ugly, unsympathetic building, no doubt covered with tasteful adverts and neon lights, which will brutally jar with the ancient city.

I hope that if this appeal for a larger store is refused and Tesco insist on building the smaller one they have planning permission for, that it is designed in such a way to be sympathetic to its historical surroundings.

However, I am doubtful whether sympathy would enter the equation as I believe that one of the proposals for pedestrian access is to build a ramp from the West Walls and Sallyport Steps- ancient monument.

Finally, can I come to the affect this would have on Carlisle Renaissance proposals in the viaduct area.

In January 2005 Carlisle suffered the worst flooding in an urban area in 50 years. Thousands of homes and properties were devastated - 3 people were killed - 2 elderly ladies drowned in their own homes. The total insurance costs were £1/2 billion. You may have seen footage of this on the television but you had to be here to understand what the population went through.

I have enclosed a book, The Great Flood just for information. Carlisle Renaissance was borne out of this tragedy and it gives the community a sense that something good would come out of the wreckage.

It has support from the local councils, myself as MP and the Deputy Prime Minister who has visited the city on two occasions relating to this. On both occasions he stressed the need for "inspirational and quality" architecture and design.

As you have been made aware from the City Council one of the prime locations for the Renaissance is the Viaduct Estate. This is apt as it was under 5 feet of water. Now we have a golden opportunity of bringing the riverside to life - to uplift the area and give it a future.

Following the flood the essential need was to prevent it from even happening again.

This has resulted in me having lengthy and fruitful discussions with the Environment Agency.

What they have accepted is that in curtailage of the city the flood defences of the Caldew and Eden will be of high quality with the sympathetic use of the appropriate materials. Not only will they be providing flood defences but will taken the opportunity of enhancing the landscaping along the riverside walk opposite the proposed store.

Since I was elected 20 years ago, one of my main objectives has been to establish a University of Cumbria. Approval by the Government was announced last year and now the search for a site for the headquarters is underway. I understand that active consideration is being given to its location on this site. This would obviously be a prestigious development and anchor the Renaissance proposals for mixed development.

If the superstore application is agreed it will have two effects:

It will severely reduce the use of the remaining land because of the traffic problems I outlined earlier.
Secondly, no building of inspirational quality will be built - because the whole area will be blighted and eclipsed by a supermarket on stilts. And 69% of local people voiced their opposition to a Supermarket on this site, in a recent poll conducted for the Renaissance scheme

Summarise:

My reasons for opposing the large store are:

It will have a detrimental effect on local shopping area
It will cause the reduction in size or closure of City Centre Tesco
It will prohibit the development of a supermarket south west of city.
It will create severe traffic congestion and
possible introduction of congestion charge
It will debase the historic core of the city.
And finally it would extinguish all hope of a vibrant, quality Caldew riverside environment, for what?

Another Tesco!

A price not worth paying.

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On behalf of Eric Martlew, 3 Chatsworth Square Carlisle Cumbria CA1 1HB