The Bradley Stoke Journal

A planning application for an astonishing 856 illuminated and non-illuminated signs in Bradley Stoke’s new town centre has been submitted to South Gloucestershire Council by Tesco Stores Ltd.

The schedule lists items ranging from large signage gantries to anti-ram bollards and “no smoking” signs.

Notable items are the signs for vehicle set down points (along the northern side of the mall), bus stops (on the edge of the town square) and taxi ranks (in front of the five non-food retail units).

Interestingly, the detailed plans show the “Brooks Centre” moniker on some of the signs, despite this having been scrapped in favour of the “Willow Brook Centre“, following a public competition to choose the name of the new town centre. The Planning Committee of Bradley Stoke Town Council, which kicked up a stink when Tesco seemed to be set on sticking with the earlier name, can however rest assured that the plans were drawn up before the naming competition had been judged.

One of the signs carries the message “Please do not take your trolley beyond this point; trolleys have been fitted with a locking device”. This would appear to confirm suggestions that Tesco intends to implement a system to prevent trolleys being taken off site, an issue that was raised at the local Stronger and Safer Community Group meeting on 10th June. A representative from Tesco is to be invited to attend the Group’s next meeting on 30th September in Bradley Stoke Community School to discuss issues relating to the new town centre development.

The application deadline for management positions at the Tesco Extra store currently under construction in Bradley Stoke’s new town centre has been extended to 11th July 2008.

When originally advertised, the closing date was listed as 19th June. This was later extended to 30th June, before being changed once more to the current deadline.

It is not known if the application deadline changes reflect any slippage in the construction timetable for the new store, which is scheduled to open in “late autumn [2008]“. The projected opening date for a dental practice to be located in the shopping mall attached to the new Tesco Extra store recently slipped from December 2008 to April 2009.

The Journal understands that applications for shopfloor positions at the new Tesco Extra store will open later this month.

Links:

• Advertisement for management positions at Tesco Extra, Bradley Stoke
• More new town centre stories in The Journal
• More new town centre information in The Journal

Photos of the new town centre construction work can be seen in our PicasaWeb Gallery.

The judging panel tasked with selecting a name for Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development has chosen “Willow Brook” as the best suggestion submitted in a public competition jointly organised by Bradley Stoke Town Council and Tesco.

The competition was held after a remarkable U-turn by Tesco, which had previously insisted on using the name “The Brooks Centre“, despite having previously promised the Town Council that residents of the town would be given a chance to choose the name in a public competition.

The winner has asked to remain anonymous and has donated the winnings to the Mayor’s Charity, the local branch of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (NACC). Tesco has also matched the sum so that the charity will benefit by a total of £100.

The entry-level personal computer that was also offered as part of the prize package will likewise go to the NACC.

The naming competition was open to all UK residents, not just those living in Bradley Stoke. Dan Bramwell, Tesco Public Affairs Consultant, has however assured The Journal that the mystery winner is a local resident.

Construction of the new town centre is now well under way and Tesco recently began advertising management positions available at the new Tesco Extra store that is scheduled to open in “late autumn [2008]“.

More information about Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development can be found elsewhere in The Journal:

• New Town Centre posts
• New Town Centre pages

Photos of the new town centre construction work can be seen in our PicasaWeb Gallery.

The steel framework for the first block of shop/restaurant/office units that will surround the town square in Bradley Stoke’s new town centre has been erected just weeks after The Journal reported that the first concrete had been poured for the foundations.

The block (pictured above and shown with a red outline in the plan below) has a distinctive tower at its western end, which will form one side of the main pedestrian gateway into the town square. A zebra crossing on the access road close to the new filling station will provide a link from the footpath/cycleway that joins the Three Brooks Roundabout with Manor Farm Crescent and The Hedgerows.

Planning conditions imposed by South Gloucestershire Council require that the two blocks on the south side of the town square be complete before the main Tesco Extra store is allowed to open.

Progress on the town centre development is rumoured to be well ahead of schedule, with unofficial sources suggesting a possible opening date as early as the first week of October [2008].

The first detailed advert for new jobs in Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development has appeared on the Tesco careers website. The supermarket group is looking for “various managers” for the new Tesco Extra store that is currently under construction and scheduled to open in “late autumn [2008]“.

Salaries for the management positions start at £21,000. Benefits include a pension scheme, a profit share scheme and a staff privilege card giving a 10% discount on Tesco purchases.

The closing date for applications is 19^th June 2008.

The only other company to so far confirm a presence in the new town centre is Reflections Hairdessing [first reported in The Bradley Stoke Examiner]. A source at the company confirmed earlier this year that they will be opening a salon in one of the mall units attached to the new Tesco Extra store. The Reflections website currently states simply that “experienced stylists” are required for Bradley Stoke. Potential applicants are instructed to contact the company for further details.

More information about Bradley Stoke’s new town centre development can be found elsewhere in The Journal:

• New Town Centre posts
• New Town Centre pages

Photos of the new town centre construction work can be seen in our PicasaWeb Gallery.

The public competition to choose a name for Bradley Stoke’s new town centre finally got underway on Friday (16th May), five days later than the date previously announced by Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) and Tesco at a Special Council Meeting on 8th May.

Tesco had decided back in March to call the development “The Brooks Centre”, but in a remarkable U-turn the company decided to honour its promise to hold a public competition to choose the name.

Entry forms for the contest are available from:

• The customer service desk at the existing Tesco store
• The offices of Bradley Stoke Town Council
• Bradley Stoke Library

or: Download the entry form.

Completed forms should be sent to BSTC or Tesco at the addresses shown on the form.

Alternatively, contestants may send their suggested name to one of the following email addresses:

• bscomp@virgin.net
• town.clerk@bradleystoke.gov.uk

Note that the BSTC email address shown on posters on display in the Tesco store is incorrect. [Postscript: this has now been corrected]

Strangely, the competition is open to all UK residents, not just residents of Bradley Stoke. Entries must be received by 5pm on Friday 6th June, with judging taking place on Monday 9th June.

The winner will receive a £50 Tesco shopping voucher with an entry level personal computer being presented to their choice of local school or nominated registered charity.

The Journal Comments:

Here at The Journal we’re not so sure that our new town centre actually needs a name (other than “town centre”). After all, the development constitutes the whole town centre of Bradley Stoke, not just a part of it - so why does it need a name? We’re more interested in whether residents are going to get any useful community services in the town centre - such as a council drop-in centre, a bank, a post office and a dental surgery.

The framework of Bradley Stoke’s new shopping mall, attached to the Tesco Extra store currently under construction in the town’s new town centre, is nearing completion. The photo above shows the view from the Bradley Stoke Way side of the complex, looking along the axis of the mall, with what will be the Tesco Extra store on the left and the mall units (over two floors) on the right.

The mall will have three entrances, two at the ends of the main axis (leading from Bradley Stoke Way at one end and the new town square at the other); a third entrance on the side of the complex will provide access from the drop-off point in the bus lane that will enter the site from Bradley Stoke Way.

Indications are that the ground floor of the mall will include ten retail units, with one unit (on the corner nearest Bradley Stoke Way) being given over to a Tesco cafe. The exact configuration of the upper floor remains uncertain, with plans on the South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) website showing eight retail units, while the Alder King marketing brochure shows just two small retail units plus two larger offices and a centre management suite. Planning conditions imposed by SGC require Tesco to actively market one of the upper floor units for use as a dental surgery.

A spokesman for Tesco told The Journal that the size and type of units in the mall would be varied to meet commercial demand, so that it will only be possible to know the final layout “once all the space is taken”.

Elsewhere on the site, changes have been made to the route used by delivery vehicles serving the existing Tesco store. Access from Bradley Stoke Way has now been abandoned in favour of a route which requires vehicles to enter the site from the Three Brooks roundabout, then follow the new access road for a short way before making a right turn across the construction site. This is similar to the route that will be used once the Tesco Extra store is complete, when delivery traffic will turn down the road between the Three Brooks public house and the new Tesco filling station to reach the loading bays of the new store.

A new area of car parking space, to the right of the new access road as the old Tesco store is approached, is expected to come into service this week. It is understood that it will initially be used for contractors’ vehicles, but when the new Tesco Extra store opens in “late autumn” it will be used by the public whilst the old Tesco store is demolished and its car park re-modelled.

Photos: Click a thumbnail image to view a larger version.

There are lots of photos of the construction work at the new town centre in The Journal’s PicasaWeb gallery. For the latest town centre news checkout posts in our New Town Centre category or see the New Town Centre pages listed in the sidebar of the website.