All change in Haverfordwest!

True to the modern trend, councillors in the Pembrokeshire town of Haverfordwest have voted in favour of a proposal to build nearly 800 new houses and guess what? Correct, a dirty great big Sainsbury supermarket is also coming. In words which will come back to haunt them, local councillors admitted that the project could "undermine the vitality and viability of the town centre". Given that the town already boasts a Tesco and Morrison's store, it is with little surprise that the report in to this latest fiasco admits that "the analysis of retail impact does suggest that there is a risk that the proposed superstore could result in closures of existing convenience stores in the town centre". But of all the priceless quotes revealed today, my favourite by far belongs to an "independent" councillor whose identity I will spare. He said, "I just think it will mean all supermarkets will have to become more competitive, which is good news for customers". Where do I begin? The only conclusion you can possibly draw from any of these frightening statements is that not one of these councillors has ever had to run a business in a town centre. Strange as it seems, they don't quite have the buying power of the retail behemoths of Tesco et al! Quite how they are supposed to compete is not clear to me. Perhaps this councillor knows something I don't? It is depressing that councillors regard such developments as a coup when they actually do so little to promote community cohesion. All the councillors seem to see is jobs. On this occasion, their solution is bordering on the comical. Since they know the local job pool couldn't supply the necessary man power to fill vacancies at the new supermarket, their solution seems to be to build more houses to attract people to the area. This is about as contrived as you can get. Another high street is being blasted to smithereens by corporate greed. Oh well, as long as we continue to elect for people out of touch with the realities of the places where we live, what else can we expect?