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A PUBLIC inquiry will decide if two east London businesses should be demolished to allow a giant Tesco store to be built on the fringes of the Olympic park.
The hearing is due to begin on 20 July into plans to compulsorily purchase land in Bromley-by-Bow to let the chain open an outlet almost double the size of an existing store south of the Olympic site in Stratford. It follows the decision to award Tesco full planning approval for a store as part of a redevelopment of the area that will include 454 new homes, a primary school, library and hotel.
The store and library - with Tesco contributing £2.2million to its cost - are due to be completed before the 2012 Games. But only outline permission has been granted for the homes, school and hotel, meaning they may not be completed for years.
The publicly funded London Thames Gateway Development Corporation agreed to impose compulsory purchase orders on two firms - Trad Scaffolding and the Crowley office block - on behalf of Tesco. Planning permissions were granted on Tuesday, but the application redrawn after concerns raised by Mayor Boris Johnson and conservation bodies.
Reader views (1)
The Planning Laws are wrong. Whereas it is allowed that someone can apply for a planning permission on land that they dont own, this does not mean that a supermarket can "Compulsary Purchase" land or buildings that is not for sale. In this case the two businesses has effectivly won the equivelant of the Lottery as if the supermarket wants their land they will have pay "whatever it costs" and if unsuccessful then "look elsewhere"
- Trader Jim, Lake District, 29/05/2010 07:34
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