Council and democracy

Tesco's shelved plans popular in Purley

The announcement is being regarded as a pleasing indication that the company has been prepared to listen to the views expressed by local people and supported by locally elected members. It also clears the way for the council to conduct a more thorough review of what is needed to address Purley's needs on an area-wide basis.

The council considers that the immediate priorities for Purley are to address the traffic situation at Purley Cross and to secure the overall regeneration of the district - including High Street and the island site. 

However, the council wishes to stress its commitment to its established relationship with Tesco as a company and is looking forward to progressing its recently signed agreement to redevelop much of the central core of New Addington.

Said council leader Mike Fisher: "I am very pleased that Tesco has listened to the people of Purley and reached a conclusion that I believe will be welcomed by all those who did not see the expansion of the store as being integral to the solution Purley needs. For this reason we welcome the news that Tesco will be refreshing its existing premises rather than undertaking a huge redevelopment.

"For our part, we will now be concentrating our efforts on pressing Transport for London (TfL) to invest seriously in addressing the district's roads infrastructure. We will be giving a renewed emphasis to the regeneration of the district as a whole, kickstarting the process with a scheme that will bring new life to the old Sainsburys site. We also anticipate some early improvements to the local streetscape as a result of resources we are allocating to Purley from our community focus fund.

"We respect the decision Tesco has made and fully expect the very positive relationship we have developed with the company over many years will be reflected in the joint approach we are taking to regenerate New Addington. In the meantime Tesco will remain an important player in whatever steps are taken to secure Purley's future. We look forward to continuing a constructive dialogue."