‘A Coalisland Newell Stores shows the heart of our small town is dying’
14th June 2012 | By: David-McCann | 7 Comments »COMMENT The third supermarket in Coalisland, along the Lineside, has been given the go ahead for an opening in Spring 2013.
The site takes in a large area of land, including the old egg factory and further down the Lineside that used to accommodate some houses and various businesses, which seemingly have all shifted.
In what seemed a long drawn out affair the planning for this supermarket has went back a number of years, and
with the said businesses relocating and the large factory knocked down, it seemed a certainty that this was to go ahead – before they had planning permission.
“It is a very bad move not simply because of competition. My concern lies with the already dying heart of the small town of Coalisland”
With a lot of debate, public opinion and rival supermarkets objecting, it seemed that an emergence of a new business in the town did not make a lot of economic sense.
Already there are two large supermarkets and from a layperson’s point of view, it always seemed that there was just enough of the town’s population to keep these two grocery stores going.
As a layperson who has grown up in the town and would be familiar with the town and its people, I find it surprising that despite public opinion, the general consensus that a third supermarket would take a lot of custom from Supervalu and Springisland and that the populace would be spread too thin to allow any of the businesses to thrive, this supermarket has been given the go ahead.
“Where has the local spirit gone? Coalisland has its best attributes in being a local, friendly place, but with the closing of local shops it is disappearing”
In my opinion I feel it is a very bad move not simply because of competition, as I feel some competition is healthy to give the consumer the best deal. My concern lies with the already dying heart of the small town of Coalisland.
The once busy and local business community of the town lies asunder. Main street resembles a ghost town, with many of the shops closing, or finding alternative means to sell their wares.
Where has the local spirit gone? Where is the familiarity of the shops and its products? I feel Coalisland has its best attributes in being a local, friendly place, but with the closing of local shops it is disappearing.
Maybe with the advancement of consumerism and larger shops maybe this is the natural evolution of things, which I can’t help but feel is unfamiliar and sometimes soulless.
Comments:
7 Comments on “‘A Coalisland Newell Stores shows the heart of our small town is dying’”
coalisland was a dying town long before newell stores decided to invest.springisland and supervalue closed the smaller grocery shops long ago.Murphy bought over mcglinceys in main st just to get the post office then took them out of main street to the stevenson complex.So it happened long before newell stores came in.The new store will bring trade and footfall back into the town centre so whats the problem David.Regeneration of a eyesore and antisocial breeding ground is a bad thing why?We should be grateful for such investment in the town and no business has a god given right to a monopoly in the town.MAYBE the other supermarkets will up their game and not take customers for granted
Of course regeneration of that area is badly needed, but where did I point out it wasn’t? But why another large store. The town isn’t that large that there already isn’t footfall, and trade, sure isn’t Springisland but 50 yards away? I agree that that area does need sorting out, my issue is with the dying local trade. I only asked why it was deemed a good idea? I’m not condemning or condoning anything, just raised an issue. The local business that i was talking about were the likes of the drapery, or Lawrence Dooeys shop. Quite a lot of shops on main street are closed. How could that be regenerated I wonder? That was my issue. I’m not attacking anyone. Your reply strikes me as quite puzzling.
Wise up we cant chang the past but we can shape the future…there was major visual opposition to this yet se how my representatives thougt i cant think for myself…so can all the politians tell me why this has went ahead…by the way tell me how this will prevrnt antisocial behavior…a. Unvuarded car parking space dven further down the line….
Another issue is the potential for “cannibalisation” as practiced by the likes of Starbucks-too many stores of the same type in a small area, prices cut drastically to try and undercut others and the one more able to weather lower profits benefits when others finally unable to keep up.-the remaining store then ramps up its prices-resulting in higher pricesin the long run along with job losses.
100% agree
The standard of written English in this piece is shocking e.g. “In what seemed a long drawn out affair the planning for this supermarket has went back a number of years…”. “Has went…”?
I do not have anything against the author; I do, however, cringe when I see supposed professional writers (be they journalists, sign writers, advertisers) not possessing a decent grasp of basic English. It makes for one annoying read!
Haha, yes you are right I’m sorry about that, I’m not a journalist nor do I write in any capacity really, I just posted that wee opinion piece there, it was in a hurry if I remember rightly. But I shall reprimand myself thoroughly. And I hope we can all get on with our lives. At least the important issues were tackled. That’s a wee joke there.