west Swindon's
Meigeizine THE
LINK Est 1978
No. 64 July 1987
Circulation 10000
SUCCESS FOR VICTORIAN VALUES
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NO FRUIT & VEG. SHOP FOR WEST SWINDON CENTRE am WIST
Sandra Silcox petitioning the Dee Corporation to change its mind.
The winning float at Freshbrook's Fun Day Carnival on June 13th was organised by members of the West Swindon Family Project. The Major and Mayoress of Thamesdown, Councillor and Mrs. Peter Owen judged the LOOK OUT FOR THE entries. They were obviously imGOLD CARD ROADSHOW pressed by the hard wort put into —SEE PAGE 7 the re-creation of the Dickensian world on the back of a lorry. FOR DETAILS
The second largest food retailer in Europe has decided that the empty shop unit at the West Swindon Centre should not be used as a Fruit and Vegetable shop - and West Swindon residents are getting steamed up about it. An application was submitted by a local Fruit and Veg. trader well over four months ago, but only recently has a reply been received from the giant Dee Corporation who own the centre. Walter Raven, Public Relations Consultant for the Dee Corporation, told The Link that the shop is earmarked specifically for a non-food outlet. "We feel that it is the interests of the Centre and the people who use it would be best served by a non-food outlet," said Mr. Raven. "It's not a case of restricting competition. We are concerned to keep a balance at the Centre and provide as wide a range of traders as possible." Local mum Sandra Silcox, from The Holbeins, Grange Park, was so incensed when she read the front page in the June edition of The Link that she did not bother with the rest. "I was so angry when I read that the chance to buy better fruit and vegetables was being denied to local people.
I immediately went up my street to get support for a petition. I also took it to the playgroup and asked parents to sign it. I had over 150 names in a couple of hours; the reaction was total support. "Some men on the doorstep thought it a bit funny that I should care about such a thing, but then how often do they do the shopping," said Sandra. "The women all want a choice of where to shop and competition to bring prices down. At the moment there's a monopoly which has been going on for too long. Why should we put up with it." Another Freshbrook mum Sue Shim agrees with this point of view. "If you cannot get into town easily, or you're on a limited income, you are really penalised." Sandra Silcox wants others to join in and protest. "This is the first chance I've had to do something about this monopoly. A petition is one way for ordinary people to fight back and get a better deal." Mrs. Silcox is not on the telephone. The Link will put people who are willing to take a petition round their street, school playground or pensioners club in touch with her. Telephone 872282 to register your interest.