Shopkeepers face battle after Asda approval

Buy photos » Harminder Gill outside his family run Cheylesmore store which could be under threat. He said planning chiefs had ignored the wishes of the community. Picture by Jon Mullis 03.012.036.cov.jm1 (www.buyphotos247.com)

FRESH fears have been expressed over the impending arrival of Asda.

One councillor, who voted against the plans, said the Daventry Road parade of shops would be 'decimated' by the new store, with the pet shop, greengrocers, butchers and newsagents all affected.

And Harminder Gill, whose family runs the Londis store in nearby Quinton Park, said the Daventry Road parade was ‘going to be a complete mess’ once the store was built.

He told the Observer his family feared their business was in trouble just months after spending thousands of pounds refurbishing and doubling the size of their store.

"At present people do their weekly shop at the Abbey Park Asda and top-up their shopping here," he said.

"But now a big store is set to be in walking distance of ours and we could now lose 50 to 60 per cent of our business."

But Alan Bonner, from Bosworth’s butchers on Daventry Road, said he was confident his business would survive.

He was against the plans on a personal level and his main concern was the store would be in a highly built-up area with deliveries disrupting nearby residents’ sleep.

"The butchers has been here 32 years and is a name known all over Coventry. I don’t see Asda as a threat because we offer quality products," he added.