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planning officers to recommend Morrisons’ bid to shut down popular hair salon

8:00am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Southend By Stephen Hackwell

Campaigners – Mark Flewitt, Roy Leach, lease holder of Simply Sissors, and residents Pam Farley, Januce Bull and Mark Anderson Campaigners – Mark Flewitt, Roy Leach, lease holder of Simply Sissors, and residents Pam Farley, Januce Bull and Mark Anderson

CAMPAIGNERS could lose their fight to save a hair salon from being taken over by Morrisons – despite more than 860 people backing them.

Planning officers at Southend Council have recommended councillors’ approve the superstore’s bid to close down neighbouring Simply Scissors, in Western Approaches, Eastwood, when they meet on Wednesday.

The verdict flies in the face of a campaign by the salon’s owner, Roy Leach, and surrounding residents to preserve the salon, which has been trading for more than 23 years.

Mark Flewitt, the Tory councillor who has led the fight, vowed to battle on.

He said: “This is not over yet. The officers may have recommended approval for the plans, but I will still be attending the meeting to speak on behalf of residents.

“This should not go through. The community does not want it.”

Morrisons, which took over the supermarket when it bought Safeway in 2003, owns the building in which Simply Scissors is based. As chief leaseholder, the company is responsible for negotiating sub-letting deals with Mr Leach and the owners of neighbouring health and beauty salon Kalma.

A third shop on the same site has been empty for some time.

Last month, Morrisons rev-ealed it wanted to use all three of the shops as a branded cafe for its customers and intended to terminate Mr Leach’s lease.

Encouraged by Mr Flewitt, hundreds of residents rallied around the salon and signed five separate petitions begging council chiefs to reject the supermarket’s plan.

However, Andrew Lewis, the council’s corporate director of enterprise, tourism and the environment, said there were no legal grounds on which to oppose the application.

He said: “Concerns have been raised by residents in relation to the closure of the local shops.

“This is not a material planning consideration and, moreover, there is no material change of use in the land.

“This a private issue between the leasee and the leaseholder.”

A spokesman for Morrisons added: “After listening to our customers’ feedback, we have submitted a plan to expand our store in Eastwood by adding a cafe with toilet facilities.”

Comments(24)

Nebs says...
8:08am Tue 7 Feb 12

After listening to our customers’ feedback. Yea, right. After listening to our accountant, more like.

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j-w says...
8:40am Tue 7 Feb 12

Well if this goes ahead maybe the locals will remember it and boycott the cafe. Let Morrisons spend the money doing it up but the residents need to vote with their feet and ignore the cafe.
Trouble is you can bet that it will do a brisk trade and contradict the views of this campaign.

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cazziee says...
9:41am Tue 7 Feb 12

I live locally and have always said it would be nice for there to be cafe there so i welcome the change.

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al coniston says...
10:08am Tue 7 Feb 12

cazziee wrote:
I live locally and have always said it would be nice for there to be cafe there so i welcome the change.
i live locally too, but i DO NOT welcome the change at the expense of other established businesses . . . i am not sure whether you will have the same opinion had it been your business which found itself facing relocation or closure. Surely the empty unit immediately adjacent to Morrisons (the former bookmakers) could provide ample floor space for a cafe without the need to take over the other units !

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Part time working Mum says...
12:05pm Tue 7 Feb 12

I live locally and do not support this at all! Morrisons have been trying to expand for years and instead of accepting it's a busy meduim size store now want to put in a cafe- why? Using all 3 shops means it would be huge so why not just use the old bookmakers as said in previous comments! When you shop at Morrisons it isn't a large store with homeware or clothing section to browse so unlike the hell that is Tesco extra I don't see why people would want to spend a long time and eat there . Also Morrisons didn't even bother to tell Mr Leach who has been there 23 years about their plans until it was public- disgraceful!. The small shops are a great asset to the local community and I use them both. Also 860 people is a vast amount of opposition for a small area- wonder if SBC will listen to local people for once!

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southendshrimper says...
2:03pm Tue 7 Feb 12

Why not wait until the lease runs out & not renew it?

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EASTWOODGIRL says...
4:42pm Tue 7 Feb 12

I THINK IT WILL BE NICE TO HAVE A CUPPA AND A CAKE BEFORE STARTING THE WEEKLY SHOP. IT WILL GIVE ALL THE LOCAL OLD FOLK FROM NEIGHBOURING FLATS SOMEWHERE TO MEET.

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streetboy75 says...
6:12pm Tue 7 Feb 12

just dont re new his lease, no big deal, he can rent another shop, think about it, morrisons will need more staff to run a cafe, and that will mean more jobs for people in the area.

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lost_scotsman says...
6:47pm Tue 7 Feb 12

When you lease a shop then that is a risk you take is it not. I mean it is upto morrisons what they do with their own building. And to be fair. I am sure they would have dont some market research to see if a Cafe would be welcome. It may be sad that a 23 year old business may have to relocate but if so many people are fond of the business then they can go to their new premises. Also, if 860 are backing this campaign why only 5 people turn out for a photo. I bet some of the 860 would use the new cafe at some point.

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snapper1963 says...
7:10am Wed 8 Feb 12

i thought the cafe was already open in the store, if you walk by the deli counter at certain times you can see some staff members eating the food as they prepare it.
enjoy your meals in the cafe !!!
(cctv dont lie)

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The Cater Wood Creeper says...
11:39am Wed 8 Feb 12

j-w wrote:
Well if this goes ahead maybe the locals will remember it and boycott the cafe. Let Morrisons spend the money doing it up but the residents need to vote with their feet and ignore the cafe. Trouble is you can bet that it will do a brisk trade and contradict the views of this campaign.
of course it will. They'll be in like flynn to get at the cheap produce.

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lexiofeastwood says...
12:28pm Wed 8 Feb 12

i agree with one of the earlier comments.ive walked around that store and seen some staff on the deli counter eating the food as they prepare the food to go on sale.very unhygenic.youll have to get your order in quick at the cafe while theres still some food left.

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MrKetchup11! says...
6:56pm Wed 8 Feb 12

Of the 860 petition signatories how many simply signed because they had a sheet of paper thrust under their noses?
I'd bet there were a few of the blue rinse brigade who thought they were signing to defend the winter fuel allowance.

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MattBell says...
8:12pm Wed 8 Feb 12

al coniston wrote:
cazziee wrote:
I live locally and have always said it would be nice for there to be cafe there so i welcome the change.
i live locally too, but i DO NOT welcome the change at the expense of other established businesses . . . i am not sure whether you will have the same opinion had it been your business which found itself facing relocation or closure. Surely the empty unit immediately adjacent to Morrisons (the former bookmakers) could provide ample floor space for a cafe without the need to take over the other units !
My father owns a second hand shop. He used to lease some buildings off Coopers in Southchuch. Then Coopers decided to turn them into flats. So my father moved and opened a new shop. It's the way of the world. It's their building, they can do what they want. I really don't see the problem. They are getting enough exposer out of this.

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muffindamule says...
11:57am Thu 9 Feb 12

snapper1963 wrote:
i thought the cafe was already open in the store, if you walk by the deli counter at certain times you can see some staff members eating the food as they prepare it.
enjoy your meals in the cafe !!!
(cctv dont lie)
Thing to do is watch what it is they are pecking at. They have a fair old range of goodies at their disposal and no doubt go for the best available .What's good for the goose is sure to be good for the gander so, if in doubt, just go for the deli that fills the staff's belly. I know I would !

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pearcemusic says...
10:08pm Thu 9 Feb 12

I think those that support this move are missing the point and possibly do not live in the area. this issue is about the local ambience being destroyed forever. Do we want a sprawling supermarket to dominate the locality? Small indepentent shops are essential for any community, it is churlish to reason that a shop owner can move to different premises. Where? They would not be local anymore. These people are local personalities contributing a great deal to the community they are part of. I have lived here for over 20 years and these people have always been a part of it. I can assure everyone that the opposing signatories are genuine and passionate. There is no support for Morrisons whatsoever. They have not done any market research and even many of their staff are against it. Just think for a moment, would you want to walk round the corner and be faced with nothing but a Morrisons?

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shell p says...
10:32pm Thu 9 Feb 12

I would like to see how the people who want a cafe would feel when there are no parking spaces in morrison's car park with people spending extra time queing up for a coffee! It's bad enough now trying to park on a Saturday afternoon. I know a lot of people who have signed the petition and no one had the petition shoved in front of them.Most people asked to sign it.Why not just go to the pub who serve coffee,snacks and cooked meals,or does Morrisons want to take the trade away from the pub as well.Support the small businesses and don't let Morrisons walk all over our community,

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John the resonator says...
1:15am Fri 10 Feb 12

We live in the area. We signed the petition and went into the hairdressers to do so, no one twisted our arms.

As one of the local posters above commented, Morrisons is not that big a supermarket. Even the cafe at the much larger Tesco is often pretty empty when we visit. This is a small group of businesses which are part of the local community. People meet and spend time there. Because of their pulling power we will likely as not just end up with supermarkets big or small everywhere. What a characterless world awaits us.

Good luck to the campaign.

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shell p says...
8:37am Fri 10 Feb 12

yesterday I heard lots of people commenting on the decision to reject Morrisons plans. Everyone was saying how pleased they were and would carry on supporting local small businesses. So much support cannot be ignored.

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shell p says...
8:37am Fri 10 Feb 12

yesterday I heard lots of people commenting on the decision to reject Morrisons plans. Everyone was saying how pleased they were and would carry on supporting local small businesses. So much support cannot be ignored.

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al coniston says...
11:54am Fri 10 Feb 12

John the resonator wrote:
We live in the area. We signed the petition and went into the hairdressers to do so, no one twisted our arms.

As one of the local posters above commented, Morrisons is not that big a supermarket. Even the cafe at the much larger Tesco is often pretty empty when we visit. This is a small group of businesses which are part of the local community. People meet and spend time there. Because of their pulling power we will likely as not just end up with supermarkets big or small everywhere. What a characterless world awaits us.

Good luck to the campaign.
John, you make a good point which brings something to the fore - lack of current floorspace. Should the proposal of a large new cafe be granted, and it is subsequently underused, would it then be reconfigured to provide Morrisons with additional sales floorspace (something which i am sure it desires to offer more lines/choice) ? Infact, why stop at the 3 units ? Why not knock through and take over the pub space too ?

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John the resonator says...
1:11pm Fri 10 Feb 12

al coniston wrote:
John the resonator wrote:
We live in the area. We signed the petition and went into the hairdressers to do so, no one twisted our arms.

As one of the local posters above commented, Morrisons is not that big a supermarket. Even the cafe at the much larger Tesco is often pretty empty when we visit. This is a small group of businesses which are part of the local community. People meet and spend time there. Because of their pulling power we will likely as not just end up with supermarkets big or small everywhere. What a characterless world awaits us.

Good luck to the campaign.
John, you make a good point which brings something to the fore - lack of current floorspace. Should the proposal of a large new cafe be granted, and it is subsequently underused, would it then be reconfigured to provide Morrisons with additional sales floorspace (something which i am sure it desires to offer more lines/choice) ? Infact, why stop at the 3 units ? Why not knock through and take over the pub space too ?
Yes, that is my suspicion. Morrisons would hardly put the old businesses (or similar) back once they have expanded into the site and I think the pub is probably also at risk.

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Part time working Mum says...
2:42pm Fri 10 Feb 12

I totally agree with pearcemusic and Al , this looks like a back route for a general expansion and that small independent shops are the lifeblood of a community . I remember when they took over Safeway in 2003 people being unsure if they would keep the store as Morrisons don't really do meduim size stores.
I also read today that their appeal for earlier morning deliveries was rejected too, the area is very residential and was not built for huge lorries thundering up and down early in the morning.

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greenlane says...
8:01pm Fri 10 Feb 12

omg Is what we are using our tax payers money for,, get a grip this is a matter for your private lawyers. i have lived in eastwood for over 25 years and i remember this salon being raided for drugs , maybe its time for a change..........

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