Wilko Over And Out?

Lumme! Local social media is buzzing with the rumour that Wilkinson, the homeware and hardware store, is about to vacate Ramsgate and head off to Westworld Cross!

I must say, when I popped in for a gold-plated sink plug at the weekend the place did look remarkably bereft of stock. Not only that, but on a trip to Shed City a few hours later, the old BHS store seemed to be in the process of being totally gutted. So perhaps they're moving there?

If the rumour's true it'll be a shame as Wilko, along with Waitrose, is definitely one of the reasons to visit the Millionaires' Playground. I have to admit that just setting foot in the place used to make me physically ill, as it has a Poundland/Aldi quality which assaulted my Fortnum and Mason sensibilities. But d'you know what, dear reader? After nearly ten years in Thanet, I've pretty much got used to slumming it!

Worse still, the T word (Tesco) has been mentioned as a potential replacement. As if we need another one of those. I've got a good mind to tweet our Police Commissioner and ask her to put a stop to it!

High Street Blues

Holy high streets! Has anyone else noticed the number of shops and restaurants that have closed in the past few weeks?

Two shops and a restaurant gone in Margate old town, a shop and a restaurant down and out in Ramsgate. Even Canterbury with its gazillions of tourists was looking a bit shabby last time I visited. I went there especially to shop at Gap, but they'd long scarpered, leaving a different kind of gap.

Still, at least petrol's six pence a litre cheaper in Canterbury, for those of you who are still reliant on gas guzzlers. That's because Tesco, who seem hellbent on treating the island as their own personal fiefdom, have a monopoly on 'cheap' petrol here in Thanet and can therefore make it as, er, expensive as our distorted local market can stand. Anyone for Asda at Arlington House?

Tesco invades Denmark:

Tesco Fiasco

I know this has already been covered on the excellent Margate Architecture blog, but I'm going to whip it out again and give it a good airing!

By now we all know that Tesco, who famously grab one of your sovs for every eight spent in this country, have their eyes on Arlington Square, up on the, er, even more deserted side of the Arsonists' Playground. On Monday night the Arlington House Residents' Association held a packed meeting to discuss Tesco's plans. Here's their press release:

The planning application from Freshwater (the site's owners) is expected in July. It will be to build a Tesco store, as big as the one in Manston. It's not a small store!

WHAT WILL THIS DO TO TOURISM IN MARGATE?

An overwhelming number of residents at the meeting last night wanted to know where all the traffic will go. The seafront of Margate will be just another M25 - as one person said - permanently impassable, so neighbouring residential areas will see a lot more cars along their streets in an effort to avoid the seafront.

By the way, some people seem to think that Tesco will pay to renovate the exterior of Arlington House. NO. Tesco will lease from Freshwater, who are the developers. Freshwater are responsible for the exterior of Arlington House and they lease the Arlington site from Thanet District Council on a 199 year lease for a peppercorn rent.

Arlington House looks as dreadful as it does because Freshwater has done nothing to the exterior in thirty or so years. Now Freshwater is basically asking the residents to pay for exterior and interior works, while Freshwater will make a mint from the long term lease it is giving to Tesco. Freshwater and Tesco are multinational, global conglomerates.

There's the very real possibility that visitors would arrive at the station, or drive to the Tesco parking lot, walk to the beach, visit Tesco for food and toilets, leave their debris on the beach and return home via the station - never to venture along the sea front towards Margate High Street or Old Town, or Cliftonville.

This will not unify Margate, but will exacerbate the geographical divisions that already exist. Connected? Good for tourism or business? We think not.

Please contact Residents Association chair Ron Greene on 07754 588193 for further comments, interview or photo opportunities.

Personally I think our beloved council will wet their proverbials at the thought of yet another Tesco superbarn on the island, so the chances of planning permission being rejected are slim, verging on the non-existent. For more information on how the Tesco monolith distorts local economies (ever wondered why you pay 6p a litre more for petrol in Thanet as opposed to Canterbury?), take a look at the Tescopoly website (tagline - Every Little Hurts!)

And just to put the record straight, I'm not one of those numbnuts who think Arlington House is a blot on the landscape. With a little TLC (rather than TDC) it could be a splendid icon for Margate. After all, 60s architecture is the new Victorian!

Separated At Birth?

Reader Samantha writes:

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Amco, the new convenience store that's opening in Ramsgate's Queen Street, and Tesco, the well known megabarn at Westwood Cross ? Are they by any chance related?

Every little helps

Every Lidl helps

Pants

Being a much impoverished millionaire these days, I've had to cut down on a few things.

So recently I found myself in Wilkinsons (the horror!) buying two pairs of socks for something like 50p. I say 'socks', as that's how they were described on the pack. I think a more accurate description might have been 'foot tubes' as they lacked any sort of shape that even approximated the aforementioned epithet. Still, they did leave a two inch layer of fluff all over the old Eastcliff plates when I took them off, thus leaving the tootsies nice and warm in bed.

A much better buy were the three pairs of Tesco undercrackers I got for three quid the other day. Well elasticated, quality gusset, a snip! Well known underwear activist Jeremy Paxman should get straight over there, given his recent grumblings about M&S Grundies. Not only that, but during a telephone conversation with another Thanet blogger, it transpired he was wearing Tesco kecks too! Can you guess who it was?

Every Minute Helps

As Waitrose had run out of millionaire shortbread, I found myself schlepping out to the Tesco megabarn at Westwood Chaos this afternoon. Except they weren't even open, having evacuated the store due to a fire alarm.

Hundreds of bemused shoppers were hanging around outside wondering why the fire brigade had taken so long to turn up, given they're only based next door. After all, it's not as if the Tesco site's owned by one of our misfortunate, arson-prone local developers, for whom a considerate, half hour delay seems de rigeur these days!

Update: The cops are urging people to ignore an email hoax that is doing the rounds which states that a small girl was snatched from the Manston Tesco. Apparently there's absolutely no truth in it. Click here to read more. Meanwhile credit-crunched shoppers are deserting the Big T for cheaper supermarkets like Aldi and Netto. Oh well, as they say, every Lidl helps!

Trevor Little Help

And the name of the spluttering spokesman that Tesco put up today to apologise for polluting everyone's petrol? Trevor Datsun.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you just can't make this stuff up.