@ inquiringmind. "although I am a keen supporter of the Exmouth Citizens' Forum, I believe that they have muddied the waters by using the slogan 'No Asda on the Exe'"

I was out last night sitting on the benches at Sowden End and I was thinking about just this question as I looked across at the estua.... sorry, the bus depot site....which looked so beautiful, by the light of the abandoned golf course.

It occurred to me, as a person who has been involved with left-wing politics for many years now, that this sort of self-questioning and self-defining is very familiar. Remember the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea and The Popular Front of Judea? That was a rather well-observed critique of the left in the 1970's and early 80's - as it began to find itself on the back foot...as the times began a-changing back again. There was a kind of
mania for ideological purity in left wing groups - there still is. At the risk of sounding like the man who shouted 'splitter!' i think the only way to deal with the dangers surrounding the question of identity is not to get into the question in the first place.

It seems characteristic of groups in the ascendency that they don't spend a lot of time wondering who they are and what they stand for. You don't often see New Labour agonising over the questions which might potentially divide them. That was what Labour did in the late 80's and early 90's - they ruthlessly suppressed anyone who might have caused factional infighting, most notably militant. I'm sure the current Labour party are a multifarious and complicated bunch of people with all sorts of various convictions and ideological divergences but they never think about any of that, because they're too busy making money for all their friends in business and for themselves and spending it all on bollinger '75, polish nannies, fired-earth paints and s-class mercs. In a word, they're winning.

The Conservatives on the other hand seem prone to introspection and identity crises. First it was Europe. Then it was Europe again. With any luck it'll be the environment next. Perhaps this Asda will be the thing that triggers that particular implosion.

It's absolutely vital that we don't worry too much about the name we have and all the semantic implications involved. Whether it makes us anti-Asda or pro-estuary.
We must always focus on what we have in common. After all it is possible to be 'for' more than one thing at a time and 'against' more than one thing at a time.

Here's a better way to think of it: what we're suffering from is an embarrassment of riches. We have all the arguments. We have the vast majority of the people. Not only are we defending one of the most beautiful places in the country - which no right-minded person would want to see destroyed, we're also up against one of the most unpleasant corporations with one of the worst environmental records, as well as all sorts of convictions for using child-labour and other disreputable labour practices.

So It's not a question of which aspect of the this stupid plan we should attack, but rather which aspect of this stupid plan to attack first. What we really mustn't do is attempt, by some reverse-alchemy, to turn our many advantages into a problem.

@ unsustainable asda 'the shudder i get when people look at me, smile and say 'yeah, but i want asda to come 'cos it's competition for tesco!'

I remember very well when that Tesco was built. Everyone in Exmouth said it would take business away from the town centre. It was just bewilderinglyly and totally obvious that it would do so.. It was unarguably the case. I had just moved down here from a town outside Oxford where the local council had invited in a Tesco to build on green belt land. There, as here, the council had found themselves with various financial problems and caved to a supermarket for a big wedge of cash to fix their short-term problems. So I knew what was going to happen. We all did.

But Exmouth council, at the time, flatly denied that Tesco would take business away from the town centre. They denied it would have any deleterious effect on town centre traders at all. The same old familiar bedtime story was wheeled out - where 'new' business is drawn into the town - from some other mythical place which is never really specified. Presumably this is a place full of businesses owned by men and women without mouths to feed and mortgages to pay, so we don't have to feel bad when they go to the wall.

But, oh no! Surprise! Turns out that Tesco is taking business away from the town centre after all! How do we know? Because our town council are telling us. Oh, hey, thanks Town Council! Who would've thunk it? A vast corporation parked on the edge of town flogging everything for reduced prices has taken business away from private traders. None of us saw that coming.

So, having completely screwed things up for town centre traders, who are you going to get to fix the problem? Yes, thats right! The people who brought you the problem in the first place. The people who everyone begged not to do it, but who did it anyway!

I think the phrase is 'and Jesus wept'.

Just to make sure the problem of business disappearing from the town centre is made really desperate Exmouth council are now allowing Tesco to expand, thus forcing the hand of the planning committee who will have to look at the Asda proposal. That committee will be faced with a leakage of business away from the town centre which will become even worse than it is now. Allowing them argue from necessity that we need an Asda to fix that problem (which of course it won't). Cynical stuff.

Asda on one side and Tesco on the other. And in the middle, Exmouth, stuck in a ruined no man's land in a war between two corporations. This whole thing is sickening.

Lin, take a look at this site and perhaps associated sites .. let us know what you think www.walmartmovie.com I don't think there's any doubt that Exmouth needs another, maybe more! food/provisions retailer just NOT one of 40,000 sq ft (and that's just the retail area, not the overall size of the store!!), and not on the estuary site.

Incidentally, and only by way of example, I can buy Extra Large free range eggs at a local farm shop cheaper and better quality than Tesco's offering. Asda wouldn't be any different. It is possible to get cheaper and better quality by shopping around .. oh! and their flavourless vegetables which start to self destruct as soon as you get them off the premises. Laughable!

As I've said before, I don't care who comes into town to provide the extra retail space Exmouth desperately needs, but the powers that be need to seriously think about parking, shelter, ease of use and hours of opening if Exmouth town centre were to become a viable family shopping centre to rival the likes of Tesco. It is no good having a butcher, baker and candlestick maker in town if people can't get there or don't want to use it for the lack of free parking and a roof over their heads. Not everyone has the time or ability to go shopping during daylight hours and require a late night opening store.

Regarding the fruit & veg... I disagree with you there. Whenever I have bought 'fresh' veg from local farmers markets, it has gone off far quicker that that I have bought from supermarkets (apart from Lidls which were dreadful) although it probably is flavourless by comparision!

Lin
Interesting!! I've read every comment on this Forum, and this latest doesn't seem to me to be consistent with your earlier comments.

To King Ludd. That town just outside of Oxford - was it Abingdon by chance? That was my old town and having seen what Tesco did for it, and contuinues to do for it, prompted me to try and explain why Exmouth should not fall into the same trap.
I knew many of the councillors and planners and got the inside track on some of what was going on. In a nutshell, once they have a foot in the door, especially in an area where they are not physically confined, everyone is stuffed. The might of their back pocket sees to that.
PS. I have always got fresh eggs direct from the farm, along with spuds. Now they have branched out and I can get free range chicken and fresh veg (when I am not getting them from the allotment)They don't do BOGOF, you buy what you need and will use.