Traders fight bid for supermarket

Published on Thursday 26 February 2009 09:14

INDEPENDENT traders in Stockbridge say they fear they will be forced to close their doors if a major supermarket moves into the former Woolworths store.

The shop in Raeburn Place is surrounded by independent food stores, whose owners fear they will lose customers if another supermarket is opened in their midst.

Food giant Sainsbury's is rumoured to be targeting the store, and the area is already served by a small Scotmid and a Waitrose. Sainsbury's at Craigleith Road is just a mile away and there is a Tesco at Broughton Road.

Tannis Dodd, 46, who owns Herbie's deli in Raeburn Place, is spearheading the campaign and has arranged a protest petition.

She said: "If a supermarket comes in and then we lose local businesses it will completely change the whole feel of our community. People's natural instincts are to go where it's easy. They say 'I could go to Herbie's and buy my bread, I could go to Bower's to buy my meat and go to Costcutter for my vegetables, but I've only got 15 minutes, I'll go to Sainsbury's.'

"Stockbridge is one of the few urban villages left in Edinburgh. If you have the supermarket, at least 11 shops will struggle."

She added: "Everyone has their different viewpoint on what should replace it, but ideally something like a Woolworths."

George Bower butchers has been a Stockbridge institution for around a century, but its days could be numbered if a supermarket moves in, according to owner Mark Smith.

Mr Smith has run the shop, also in Raeburn Place, for four years, taking it on from his father Alec, who ran the business for 30 years. He said the business, which is highly dependent on the winter game market, would struggle if a supermarket moved in.

He said: "Possibly we won't survive – it's whether I would want to survive at that rate. It's one thing to survive and another to work 12 hour days and seven day weeks which is what I already work through the winter. The whole summer we don't make money and if we make less than nothing through the summer I can't imagine it being worth it.

"There are high rates in the area anyway and everyone is close to the wire. Small businesses will go because of it."

Community councillor Fiona Houston said any loss of independent shops would be bad news for residents as well as traders: "I think Stockbridge is quite unique. It does have a lot of individual food retailers, which is under threat in Britain today, and we feel that we'd like to preserve what's good about our local community."

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman confirmed that the chain had been considering the purchase of some former Woolworths stores but could not comment on whether the Raeburn Place premises was among them.