Sainsbury's could lift Whitton out of the 'doldrums'

10:31am Tuesday 1st July 2008

Comments (2)   Have your say »

The long wait for the rejuvenating kick Sainsbury's could bring to Whitton High Street has one more hurdle to overcome.

Residents and shop owners eager to see the town receive the economic boost St Margarets and Kew enjoyed from Tesco moving in will have to hold their breath while the store and the owner of the ex-Co-op site thrash out the finer points of a lease agreement.

“Altogether about 12 shops are closed here and if something is not done Whitton will be a ghost town."

Keith Wright

Keith Wright, who owns Ark pet shop in Whitton High Street, is desperate for the two parties to come to a quick agreement while many of his customers feel Sainsbury's will "bring life back into the town."

He said: "This town is now in the doldrums. That site has been empty since May 15.

"Squatters try to break in to the empty store and it's bringing the whole town down. Whitton is becoming a squatters paradise.

"If it had been an empty shop in Richmond or Twickenham it would be a different matter and the council would not allow it as they don't want those towns to look chavvy.

"Altogether about 12 shops are closed here and if something is not done Whitton will be a ghost town.

"We are too far from Twickenham for the council to care. If we were in Hounslow something would have been done about this ages ago."

A council spokesman said it was simply following planning law and that Sainsbury's had three years from the approval of the application in February to move into the premises before the order would be rescinded.

A Sainsbury's spokesman offered residents wanting the company to move in some hope.

He said: "We are very keen to get the site open.

"We are negotiating with the landlord over the lease and these things take time.

"These things take time and we have to get it right but we are very keen to get a store in Whitton."