Cam shoppers don't mindo who owns store (From Gazette Series)

Cam shoppers don't mindo who owns store

THE shock sale of the Cam Co-op to Tesco has far reaching implications. Gazette reporter Keith Watson went to both Cam and Dursley to find out what shoppers in the area think.

CO-OP has had a long-standing presence in Cam but is the change to Tesco going to make people shop elsewhere or are people simply going to continue with the new store because of its convenience?

Co-op customer Hilary Bayliss from Upper Cam explained that she was not concerned about the change in terms of who owned the store.

Instead, she was more concerned about what it would mean in terms of attracting a larger volume of people.

"The only thing that I am worried about," she said, "is if we get everyone in Dursley coming to Cam.

"It will mean a lot more traffic and it could get extremely busy here." Another Upper Cam resident, John Grove, said if he still had a local supermarket he would use it.

Mr Grove said: "I must be one of the few people who has never shopped at Tesco before but if it is there I am going to use it."

Charlotte Galvin, along with friends Danielle Pearson and Fiona Smith, from Draycott, Cam, said she would still use the store regardless of who owned it.

"I don't mind," she said. "I'll still shop there if it becomes Tesco. But what are they going to do in Dursley if Tesco have come here?"

What indeed. Residents and traders in Dursley have been waiting for the supermarket development for years and are worried about the whole plan for the future of the town grinding to a halt.

Burnt Oak resident Harry Atkinson described the failure of Tesco to come to the town as a disaster.

He said: "It was to be the hub of the town's regeneration and looks like being extremely difficult to salvage.

"Tesco or a similar superstore would have enlarged the footfall of the town, which would have benefited many of the other traders.

"Without that I don't know what else can be done to replace it." Steve Smith, who owns Intersound in Parsonage Street, said the news was a setback for traders in the town.

He said: "I will reserve judgement until we find out what Stroud District Council can put in its place.

"Have they got anyone else in mind for the site? If there isn't anyone then it is going to be hard for traders in Dursley."