Parish councillors hope to derail Tesco Express

Village councillors have vowed to fight plans to build a Tesco in Herne "every step of the way". They were unanimously defiant this week against speculation of the supermarket giant taking over the empty Upper Red Lion pub.

Tesco is believed to be in talks with brewery Punch Taverns to turn it into an Express store, but the idea was given short shrift at a parish council meeting on Thursday.

Read more...

Holy Trinity pipped by Unholy Monopoly?

Herne turns out to be an unsuspected hive of activity. It transpires that the local vicar thought it would be a neat idea to re-establish the centuries old symbiosis between Booze and Pews by nabbing the defunct Red Lion as a vicarage.

---

A vicar has revealed she asked her church to purchase a rundown pub and turn it into a new vicarage. The Rev Elaine Richardson tried to persuade the Diocese of Canterbury to buy the empty Upper Red Lion in Herne.

The vicar, who preaches at St Martin's Church next door, says it would have been the perfect spot for a vicarage with rooms for public use. But the Diocese considered the move "uneconomical and unsuitable" - paving the way for Tesco

Read more...

The Upper Red Lion at Herne, Tesco, and Peter Vickery-Jones

What do the locals make of the tale of an old village pub, a greedy supermarket and a local Councillor? Disgusting, stupid, ignorant... and they're not talking about the pub or the supermarket.

Here's how the tale has been unfolding over the last couple of weeks in the HB Gazette. The pub closed in March 2011, and is up for sale at £¼m. Tesco will take it off Punch Tavern's hands if they can get planning permission, although both sides are being tight-lipped about the deal. Ignoring the concerns of local businesses, Cllr Vickery-Jones wades in, spouting daftness.

Read more...

Positive feedback over development

HB Gazette 7th Oct 2010

Tesco delayed

HB Gazette 30th Sep 2010