Local provision for local community
Our new store will offer the local community more choice within the area, helping to better serve the needs of the community and encouraging shoppers to stay in Kingsbridge. The new store will have 19,000sq ft of retail space with 175 parking spaces. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint by 50% and by providing a store locally to you in Kingsbridge, we will help reduce your travelling and therefore your carbon footprint too. Previous experience shows that the new store will attract residents from further afield which in turn will benefit the whole Kingsbridge retail community. A pedestrian connection from the new Tesco store to Fore Street will also benefit smaller retailers.
We are keen to be good neighbours and get involved in the local community by supporting local projects, activities and events. We are sponsoring the “Stars in their Eyes” evening on the Friday of Kingsbridge Fair Week.
Local jobs for local people
Our new store will provide at least 140 new jobs and we will be employing as many local people as possible. Both full and part-time positions will be available, so that local people can work hours to suit their needs. Potential recruits are offered a six-week training course preparing them for working in our store and will be chosen on their aptitude and not just their existing qualifications. We will be working with Jobcentre Plus, Connexions and other local employment agencies.
Local food from local producers
We take pride in offering customers a choice - not only on where to shop but on having a wide variety of products to choose from. We source as much local produce as possible and the new Kingsbridge store will provide local Devon milk, Devon fresh and pre-packed fish, Devon eggs, Devon water, Devon jams and chutneys, Devon cheese, Devon meat and bacon, Devon beers and cider, Devon ice cream and clotted cream, Devon chocolate and many other local products. For Tesco the Westcountry now leads the way with more than 170 products from the region. Among the local suppliers to the Kingsbridge store will be Westaways sausages, Moor Chocolate and Dartmouth’s Westcountry Smokehouse.
The local environment
The new store will be set down within the landscape helping to soften it within its surroundings. The store will be built using local materials wherever possible, and will incorporate many sustainable features, including photovoltaic and solar panels, waste minimisation, pollution control, rainwater harvesting and importantly the re-use of a brown field site. A target of halving energy use in our stores by 2010 has already been achieved. Tesco has invested heavily in energy efficient technologies such as low energy fans, cold air retrieval systems, timers on lights and high efficiency refrigeration.
Care of the environment is important to us all which is why we actively encourage re-use of plastic bags and now offer our ‘bags for life’ and ‘green’ clubcard points. All Tesco free carrier bags are now degradable - composting down in just 18 months and leaving no residue harmful to the environment. Tesco has recently extended its range of re-usable bags, in a range of sizes and materials, including environmentally friendly jute. Our packaging and waste strategy aims to reduce the amount of packaging on branded and Tesco own-label products by 25%, to double customer recycling at our automated recycling units and to ensure that at least 80% of our own operational waste is recycled.
From big steps, like aiming to halve energy use, right through to small details like using one label instead of two on our clothes, we are trying to make a difference. And we want to make it easier for our customers to do the same by offering greener, more sustainable choices.
To find out more and to see how you can help look after the environment, visit www.tesco.com/greenerliving.
What happens next?
Work will start during this summer to re-site the Western Power Distribution depot to Tor Quarry, making way for the new public car park. At the same time some preparatory work will be carried out on the store site. When the new car park is complete, store construction work will get under way on the existing car park site. We hope to complete the new Tesco store by late summer 2009.
Your views count
This public exhibition enables us to hear your opinion on our proposed store and we welcome the views of as many of you as possible. Please fill in the response forms at the exhibition and let us know what you think.