Regular readers of this blog might have noticed a slight tendency of mine to indulge in a bit of light TESCO-bashing every once in a while. My main motive for this is that despite the evident benefit the store brings to Addlestone and the surrounding areas as a place where you can find just about anything you need around the clock, be it clothes, your weekly food shop, a last-minute gift or a midnight snack, it makes it nigh-on impossible for nearby independent shops to compete and survive. You might picture me then as a principled man, valiantly sticking to my guns at every opportunity and avoiding the store in favour of independently-owned offerings, but sadly the truth is I shop at TESCO regularly, making me a complete hypocrite. Or you could just see me as another victim of the vicious circle that living next to a superstore entails. Yes, let's stick with that one.
Some news this week, however, has given me fresh grounds to pick the place apart, and indeed fresh hope that I might not have to see the alien mothership-resembling monstrosity for much longer when I walk into town, albeit for unfortunate reasons.
You may have seen the Get Surrey articleTesco takes action over "filthy" Addlestone store from last Thursday, which I spotted circulating on Twitter. After a recent environmental health report by Runnymede Borough Council the store was described as "filthy" and having "extremely poor standards" by the hygiene inspector, according to the article. This surprised me at first as, I have to admit, I had never noticed its cleanliness to be any worse than that of my own home (maybe even better) but as you make your way through the article it becomes clearer why. It turns out the offending areas were in fact out of public view, namely the bakery and behind the deli counter, as well as the fish fridge. That is to say right in those areas we could all do with being pretty spick and span.
After this report came to light, TESCO claimed they "insist on the highest standards of hygiene ... and are very disappointed by this isolated incident". This prompted them to re-train their Addlestone staff, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to pick up a cloth every once in a while. The article also points out that this wasn't the first "isolated incident" where TESCO Addlestone had been busted for neglect of hygiene, as an inspection in 2010 revealed the same problem. That's two years worth of dirty doughnuts.
Because of TESCO's readiness to put things right, they were let off on this occasion with no action taken against them. However, I'm sure they can expect to feel the full force of Runnymede Borough Council if they're found not to be complying again, assuming RBC are taking a "three-strikes-and-your-out" approach.
Of course, the risk of a mucky kitchen probably won't be enough to deter the loyal TESCO shoppers of Addlestone from purchasing pants, chicken tikka masalas, bouquets of flowers or even the occasional bag of doughnuts from the superstore, as the convenience of it is so utterly irresistible. Heck, I'm covering my keyboard in jam and sugar as I type. Iwillwipe it up though.
Click hereto read the full Get Surrey article, and tweet your views to@TheAddlestonian.
For anyone who has never gone to the lengths of visiting Addlestone, the following seven-minute video will provide you with a good insight into the town's spirit, ambience and culture. Residents alike can enjoy the video to observe their hometown from a different perspective, through the medium of a glossy motion picture:
Indeed; the current situation is a bit grim.
The video opens by introducing Addlestone as one of Runnymede's key town centres. In what way that's true I can't even begin to fathom, but if it is then I suspect it has something to do with the mammoth TESCO Extra that's so important to the town's local economy, or so the video claims. In that case the narrator might as well have bypassed the notion of Addlestone altogether and made sole reference to the superstore, which supposedly keeps the town chugging along nicely.
She admits, however, that TESCO has made it "difficult for smaller independent shops to survive, leading to a lack of competition within the town". In other words, TESCO is raking it in, but Addlestone's home-grown businesses along the high street (or what's left of it) are suffering, largely as a result of the former's success. Well, who could have seen that coming? Apart from takeaway outlets of course. No; that's one industry that continues to thrive in Addlestone.
Despite being one of Runnymede's key town centres, it's claimed in the same breath that not many have heard of Addlestone (an odd state of affairs for a key town centre) and yet it hasn't had the best reputation (quite an achievement for a town not many have heard of). So in summary, Addlestone is an essential, although little-known, yet unpopular place. With this paradoxical message in mind, let's have a look at what the video was actually for...
The video was created by Runnymede Borough Council and put forward for the Portas Pilot Scheme. The Portas Pilot Scheme comes after Mary Portas (a.k.a Mary Queen of Shops) was called upon by the government to make an assessment of British towns in December 2011 to find a way to revive the country's most struggling high streets.
Since the scheme was announced, councils up and down the country, including Addlestone's very own, have been bidding like crazy with the aim of securing the prize of £100,000, available for twelve successful towns to go towards local projects. Of course being "successful" in this case means being the most impressive failure.
In order for a town to show itself worthy of such charity, its council would have to submit a video like the one above in which various people would beg for help in between shots of empty, dilapidated buildings before rounding it off in an optimistic tone. They would need to explain the town's troubles and how the money would be invested.
In Addlestone's bid, some valid points were put forward to highlight the town's great potential. It's close to London. It's close to junction 11 of the M25 (although I personally avoid it when I need it most, i.e. rush hour). It has a good bus and train service (a quick escape). It's recently had up to 300 new homes built (I would have sooner mentioned we have a Gregg's). The narrator also draws attention to Addlestone's "new" Civic Centre, newly completed in 2008. I join her in her admiration of the building for bringing a police station, library and Runnymede Borough Council offices under one roof, but "state-of-the-art"? I think someone's overestimating the charms of this building. Let's consider this for a moment...
It's always been my view that any new construction should compliment its local surroundings, or at the very least be a pleasure to look at. This might, for instance, involve taking inspiration from other nearby buildings or drawing on the local architectural flavour. Here's what the architects had in the vicinity to inspire them:
Here's what I would have recommended they steer clear of:
Here's the design they came up with:
That's right; the architects of Addlestone Civic Centre embraced the character of the local area wholeheartedly and chose to draw all inspiration from the worst period in architectural history: the 1960's. At least it's in harmony with its surroundings.
The narrator proudly announces that the Civic Centre will be the benchmark of design and quality the town can expect. I have to admit, that fills me more with horror than confidence. Still, for all my criticism the building won a Royal Institute of British Architects award in 2009 and was also shortlisted for a British Council for Offices Award and Building Award for Public Building of the Year in 2009. Baffled, I'll admit defeat on that one.
Lastly the narrator highlights the relatively sizable expanse of disused land right next to the Civic Centre which is available for development, and essentially another blank canvas for developers to do their magic on. It is to be used ideally for "a good mixture of shops and an investment catalyst that will help kickstart the recovery of the town". Hey I know, what about a TESCO?
The rest of the video is spent explaining that the regeneration of Addlestone would help it act as a springboard for two of Runnymede's other town centres, Egham and Chertsey. It transpires that this is all part of the council's "very ambitious agenda" involving all three towns, beginning with Egham, where phase one of the new "corporate business plan" will involve replacing car park space with a large development of a Waitrose and Travelodge, to start construction this year. Yet another supermarket along with a sterile, prosaic hotel. Why, that's too ambitious for words. I'm still not sure what it has to do with Addlestone.
So of course the question you all want to ask is, just what did Mary Queen of Shops think? Well, the twelve successful towns were announced in late May, and after a perusal or two of the winners I noticed Addlestone didn't feature among them.
Obviously, it was going to be a long shot in the first place. Addlestone was just one of many towns all around the country whose councils had an inkling that a local improvement or two wouldn't go amiss. If wehadwon funding, we would have had to concede that Addlestone was one of the twelve most desperate towns in the country, so we can crack open a carton of TESCO Value wine to celebrate in that respect.
Nonetheless, we don't quite know Mary's opinion. Perhaps she thought Addlestone had potential enough to thrive of its own accord eventually. On the other hand it could mean, as @addlesy suggested on Twitter, "maybe Mary felt we are a lost cause :(" It might be that she wasn't overly impressed with the plans that were laid out for the money. All are equally plausible.
However, we can give ourselves a better idea. Here is the list of successful towns and what they plan to spend the money on (copied from communities.gov.uk) along with links to their video bids where possible. I encourage you to watch them:
Bedford – offering mentoring support for High Street businesses and community use of empty properties.
Croydon, Greater London – transforming the riot-stricken area’s historic Old Town market into a thriving market, food and cultural quarter.
Dartford, Kent – opening up central spaces for use by classes and clubs, from the Scouts to Slimming World and starting a ‘school for shopkeepers’.
Bedminster, Bristol – putting Bedminster on the map for Street Art and Street Theatre. A bicycle rickshaw service and a review of parking will also tackle the traffic environment.
Liskeard, Cornwall – competing against the edge of town supermarket with a vibrant arts scene, guerrilla gardening and yarn bombing to inject fun back into the town centre.
Margate, Kent – putting education and enjoyment at the heart of the town centre’s transformation with courses, “job club” services and pop up shops.
Market Rasen, Lincolnshire – drawing customers in by restoring the market town look and feel, advertising free parking and mentoring new businesses.
Nelson, Lancashire – attracting local students with a young persons café, sports activities, and a new art and vintage market.
Newbiggin by the Sea, Northumberland – better branding of the town to draw people in, improving local transport and hosting pop up shops.
Stockport, Greater Manchester – realising the character and potential of the Markets and Underbanks area with a creative arts complex, outdoor screenings, a new parking strategy and street champions.
Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire – live entertainment at the Globe Theatre to boost the evening leisure economy alongside specialist High Street and evening markets.
Wolverhampton – bringing the city will to life with modern day town criers and on-street performers and a ‘dragon’s den’ style competition to support local entrepreneurs.
It swiftly becomes apparent that what the winning towns all share in their plans is an emphasis on localism; an interest in encouraging or propping up small businesses and local traders and embracing some form of local culture or tradition. They demonstrate ideas that will add vibrancy to their towns, creating something unique and different that's worth going to visit because it's the only place you can find it. There's something else they all featured - the most crucial component of all: LOCAL PEOPLE!
Compare the above videos with Addlestone's entry and you will notice that the focus in our bid was misguided. Far from encouraging localism or any sense of community spirit at all, it seemed more preoccupied with its faceless, corporate agenda that's in the pipeline for Runnymede (and which, for that matter, doesn't completely focus on Addlestone). Given that, it might be a blessing in disguise that the council didn't get the funds to play around with after all. Not that they could have reproduced Addlestone Civic Centre - that cost £16.4 million.
Congratulations to the winning towns, and I hope our council takes note in time for round two. If we can replicate the attitude of the successful towns, there's nothing stopping us from turning things around and producing something quite impressive with the space we have. A weekly market, perhaps? A leafy town square? Could we create a nifty little export with our very own "Addlestone Brewery"? It just takes a bit of vision.
What wouldyoulike to see in Addlestone? Or are you quite satisfied with what was proposed? Do you want to promote your business here? Leave a comment with your suggestions, or tweet me@TheAddlestonian.
As the weeks elapse following the
Queen's Diamond Jubilee, bunting across the country is being taken down and a mild wave of excitement that even managed to stir sleepy Addlestone (if only along the
aisles of TESCO) gradually dissipates. It leaves those who were awake enough to notice
anything was going on in slightly more uplifted spirits, apart from a few
republicans who at any rate are beginning to feel at ease as they can step foot outside again. Everyone's a winner.
But before people have quite had time to
settle down they've found themselves swapping Pimms for a Strongbow as the next frenzy to sweep the nation recently arrived in the form of the UEFA Euro 2012 currently taking place and leaving televisions in homes
all over the country trembling in fear as they have abuse hurled at them. Addlestone's
televisions are more used to it.
So what more could people ask for,
apart from a sunny day or two? Well, just when the people of Addlestone thought
they had it all, Addlestone Community Association brings something extra
special to the table: Addlestone Arts Festival 2012.
The festival, from 16th - 24th June
this year and already in full swing carries on from previous years and involves
a diverse range of events for Addlestonians of all ages, classes and ASBO-related
curfews. I apologise retrospectively if my lax blogging has left you unaware of
it as we approach its fifth day.
So on with the remaining events! Here
is a rundown of what to expect:
Wednesday 20th June
2-4pm - Bingo - Addlestone Community
Centre - £1 / book
8pm - 'Jazz on a Summer's Evening'
- Methodist Church - £7
Thursday 21st June
6.30-9.30pm - Antiques valuation and
exhibitions - Addlestone Community Centre - £1 / valuation
6.30pm - 'Summer Serenade' live music -
St. George's College - Entry fee
22nd - 24th 10am-5pm - St. Paul's
Flower and Art Festival, a celebration in flowers of the Diamond Jubilee and
London 2012 Olympics - St. Paul's Church (cream tea 2.30-4.30pm Fri and Sat) -
Entry fee
Saturday 23rd June
10am-3pm - Street Fair - Station Road
and Methodist Church - free parking in Garfield Road car park
11am - Country dancing
11.30am-1.30pm - Belly dancing
12pm - K.A.T.S Productions
Olympic Tableau
12.30pm - Luke Edney on Guitar
1pm - Songs by Wey Voices
Face painting and more...
1pm-4pm - 'Party in our Park', fancy
dress, live music, games, bbq - Victory Park - free entry
2pm - Come and try lawn bowls - Victory
Park - equipment provided
Sunday 24th June
6pm - Community Thanksgiving Service -
St. Paul's Church - free
These events aside, on Thursday 21st
June from 10am-3pm there will be a Healthwatch Event at
Runnymede Centre. As you can see, by anyone's standards this is a week not
to be missed in Addlestone. Whether you don't miss it because you turn up, or you don't miss it because you're glad to see the back of it once it's over.
Follow @TheAddlestonian on Twitter and
join the conversation, share your stories and experiences, and find out who else is going to be
hitting Addlestone Town this week.
Anyone who's wandered down to Addlestone high street within the last few weeks (or driven through it as the more popular option remains) will have noticed the shop fronts of Station Road have been lined with Union Jacks.
What's the occasion, you ask? No, there hasn't been an overnight surge in support for the far right. The flags are in fact in preparation for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this coming Saturday 2nd June, which I'm sure is what really sprang to your mind in the first place. However, you can't help thinking they give the town an air of some futuristic distopian regime when looking towards the southern side of the hight street:
Station Road looking south, Addlestone
Then again, that side of the street does pretty well at that without the flags.
They might have struck you as a pleasant addition to the town on the whole, giving it a bit of colour and a certain buzzy vibe so often lacking in an otherwise drab and lifeless high street. They also bring a certain element of unity to the place, connecting everywhere from Kebab Land to Leighton's.
The flag may be a novel presence in Addlestone but it isn't by any means to our easterly neighbours in Weybridge, who have been waving red, white and blue since before Wills and Kate's Royal Wedding in April 2011. Although they seem to have pulled it off in a much more elegant way than Addlestone, the fact that their streets stay flagged up all year round does leave you in expectant wonder as to what in God's name the fuss is all about as you pass through.
Baker Street, Weybridge
Baker Street, Weybridge
Baker Street, Weybridge
Perhaps it's to make visitors feel as if the people of Weybridge are celebrating their arrival that they'd been anticipating for only too long.
Station Road in Addlestone isn't the only part of town that's been tarted up. Addlestone's main focal point and fundamental core that the town depends on for activity has joined in on the festivities:
That's right, TESCO Extra hasn't only smothered its already riveting interior with Union Jacks but introduced some fabulous celebratory offers and even started blaring the likes of Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory through its speakers for everyone to enjoy - including the deaf, who will see the litre bottles of coke and six-packs of strongbow rattling off the shelves. Whether TESCO are using the occasion to cash in on people's party spirits and inner patriots and condition them to think the last thing they'd want to do is let the weekend pass without having hosted a royal bash of epic proportions with comestibles sourced solely from the megastore itself - or just want to celebrate the Queen's 60 years as head of state - is unclear.
So what's going on in Addlestone to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee? Here's a few events to be aware of:
Crockford Bridge Farm Shop, New Haw Road, KT15 2BU
Sun 3rd June
Family Fun Day - Crouch Oak Pub
Station Road, KT15 2BE
Mon 18th June
Diamond Jubilations Concert - Addlestone Methodist Church
Station Road, KT15 2AW
As you can see, when I said a few, I meant it.
For information on more events going on in the local area this bank holiday weekend, have a look here.
If you're organising a street party or know of another event, feel free to leave a comment!
I call on all Addlestonians to have a royal blast on this Diamond Jubilee bank holiday, and to celebrate in true Addlestonian style. Or do better if you feel you can.
I'll be celebrating in the land of stars and stripes, so this will be the last post for two weeks. Thanks for reading, and Rule Addlestonia. *gives royal wave*
What more efficient way to divide opinions on a place than to point out its political leanings? With roughly half the country's population being of a red disposition and the other being blue at any one moment, revealing where a town lies on the political spectrum will spark instant admiration in one half and revulsion in the other (or at least among those who could care a hang either way). So it's with some apprehension that I present to you Addlestone's results in this year's local elections on 3rd May.
Due to its population size, Addlestone is split into two wards of just over 8,000 people each: Addlestone Bourneside and Addlestone North. Addlestone North represents the northern part of the town, Addlestone Bourneside represents the south. This begs the question, why not just call Addlestone Bourneside 'Addlestone South'? This puts an enormous amount of pressure on Addlestonians to find the correct polling station, especially as the ward boundary runs diagonally rather than horizontally, not to mention that most residents are probably oblivious as to what the term 'Bourneside' refers to (if they're anything like me, that is).
Addlestone wards within Runnymede within Surrey
It is in fact the River Bourne, which runs through Addlestone more or less parallel to the town's (and the borough of Runnymede's) eastern border, which is itself represented by the River Wey.
The River Bourne that runs through Addlestone is not to be confused with the River Bourne that runs through neighbouring Chertsey. These are two separate rivers which just happen to have identical names. Oh, and they join at one end. Definitely two separate rivers.
Just to add to the confusion, both River Bournes aren't rivers at all, but streams, as the word bourne (Anglo-Saxon: 'stream') would suggest. Some believe this is what inspired Robert Ludlum to write his spy fiction thriller The Bourne Identity.
But enough about troubled waters and tenuous pop culture references. The results were as follows:
Addlestone North 2012: Official Monster Raving Loony Party 9% | Lib 12% | Lab 34% | Con 45% (turnout: 24%)
2011:Monster Raving Loony Party 3% | Lib 11% | Lab 28% | Con 58% (turnout: 35%)
2010: [also general election] Lib 42%| Con 58% (turnout: 61%)
A number of conclusions can be drawn from these results. Firstly, the Monster Raving Loony Party thinks it has a chance in Addlestone North. They may well be right, as their share of the vote has increased threefold since last year, even with the same parties in opposition. In fact they seem to have gained support solely at the expense of the Conservatives in what has been a staunchly Conservative area for 14 years. The OMRLP candidate subsequently offered an insight into his success in a comment on a Get Surrey article:
"not many of the candidates did make an effort, but I did, over 2,000 flyers were posted though (sic) letters (sic) boxes, and 2 1/2 days of noking (sic) on doors, 500 handed out to passing people in the Addlestone North area, it would have been a lot more, but bad weather stopped me,
Crazy Crab OMRLP
a big thank you to all 99 voters,"
If their vote share triples again next year, then Addlestone North will be one monster raving loony place.
Apart from the Loony kids on the block, the parties on offer have mainly been the mainstream three with the odd other fringe or independent candidate here and there. All in question appear to dip in and out of the fun and games when it suits them.
Addlestone Bourneside, an even more staunchly Conservative area as yet under no threat from any surreal, existentialist lunatics, has seen a consistently higher voter turnout than its northern neighbours over the last four years. What exactly it is about the southern ward that makes it more likely to vote, I could only speculate on purely random and tentative grounds. So here I go: Bourneside has three polling stations whereas North just has two.
When I describe Addlestone as a Conservative area I refer of course to her behaviour at the ballot box. In other words, the activity of the minority who know which of their local buildings spends one day a year as a polling station and use it for that reason. Given that both Addlestone North and Bourneside were identified in 2010 by the Surrey Lifelong Learning Partnership as two areas with the greatest concentrations of people in Runnymede without a qualification to speak of, not forgetting that Bournesiders rank in Surrey's top 20 for being simultaneously out of employment, education and training, as well as for having children affected by income deprivation, you might wonder who exactly is voting for a party that pledges incessantly to slash the very same people's benefits whilst encouraging them away from Jeremy Kyle to arrange crisp packets or mark down near-expired curries. Indeed, that's what the Conservative candidate Cherith Mary Simmonds assured me was one of her priorities when she paid me a visit during her canvassing rounds, not that these are policies relevant to a local election. Call me crazy, but I suspect their support isn't coming from here:
Surrey Towers, Addlestone Bourneside
In short, the more affluent Addlestonians appear to be ruling the Addlestoners.
So what could next year have in stall for Addlestone's local election results? Well, of course it completely depends on who fancies troubling themselves to stand as a candidate. In the last County elections of 2009 the Addlestone County Division produced the following results:
Equal Parenting Alliance 2%
Labour and Co-Operative Party 10%
Lib Dems 14%
UKIP 22%
Con 51% (Turnout: 35%)
As the current decline in support for the Conservatives is much gentler in Addlestone and surrounding areas than it is for the rest of England, a straight competition between Lib / Lab / Con will likely still see them re-emerge with a majority in Addlestone, contributing to a Tory majority in Surrey as a whole. However, if an increasingly popular UKIP plan on making an appearance again then they will most likely bring the Tories down a peg or two. Although their strong results in 2009 can be partly attributed to the EU elections on the same day, which won't be the case next year, YouGov polls in recent months show that UKIP have been consistently snatching 11-12% of 2010 Tory voters. Repeated around the county, Surrey could even end up with no overall control for the first time in 15 years for that very reason.
Of course, the big question is whether the Monster Raving Loony Party will take on the Addlestone County Division in 2013. If they do, then we'd better pray that none of the major parties decide not to join in, otherwise I foresee a George Galloway style spring in what would become the Loony heartlands of Addlestone.
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