I live in Cuckfield, a small Sussex village which is currently in turmoil.
The Co-Op, who already have a shop at one end of Cuckfield, intend to open a new, much bigger branch at the opposite end on a site which until this summer was a 200 year-old pub, The Ship.
What has really upset us locals is that the pub sits immediately next to a small village shop and sub post office, Wealdon Stores, which is run by a pair of hard-working single mums who live above the shop with their children. They make a modest living by working hard and supporting their families.
They sell all the usual, newspapers, basic groceries, a smattering of stationery and they do their best to stock local produce and their shop is always full of local chatter and gossip. Totally unlike the homogenised, sanitised CO-OP, which churns out nothing remotely locally produced or thoughtfully sourced.
The new shop being planned by the self-styled "ethical" CO-OP (as their new ad campaign goes to great lengths to emphasize), will put the shop and these ladies (Dawn and Janine), out of business within months, so that, along with their business, they also risk losing their home.
We have had no response from the CO-OP on the matter of what would happen to them, presumably because they couldn't give a damn about destroying their little shop and pulling the plug on their livelihood.
CO-OP representatives even had the gall to describe Wealden Stores as a health store in their application meeting with the parish council, thereby suggesting that there would be no conflict in business.
It would appear that there are no depths which CO-OP representatives will not plunder in order to get their new shop opened.
What complete nonsense and sheer hypocrisy.
The time has come for DIRECT ACTION.
BOYCOTT YOUR LOCAL CO-OP*
Here's a video made by local celeb Christian Stephenson, aka DJ-BBQ, (from Jamie Oliver's programme), which explains the situation very succinctly:
If you have the time, please sign our petition:
www.change.org/p/mid-sussex-district-council-issue-an-immediate-article-4-direction-on-the-ship-inn-cuckfield
Please support us, sign and BOYCOTT YOUR LOCAL CO-OP in protest.
If you have the time, contact Steve Murrells of the Co-Op and register your feelings:
[email protected]
I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. He hasn't had the manners to reply to me, perhaps a slew of e-mails from other Mumsnetters will inspire him to be more courteous.