BRITISH ACTIVISTS TAKE ON THE BIG BOXES

PAUL LEWIS, GUARDIAN - An eco-warrior in Somerset is suspended 60 ft
above ground between the branches of a Scots pine. A typist from
Stockport has drafted the latest in a series of complaints about her
oversized local supermarket. And a vicar on the Essex island of West
Mersea is warning parishioners about the unsustainability of
international food trade. There is a common denominator to this motley
band of citizen-activists. They are part of an emerging and nationwide
people's revolt, erupting through the internet, against Britain's number
one supermarket, Tesco. Last week, as the Small Shops parliamentary
group called for the creation of a retail regulator, more than 200 local
anti-supermarket campaigns came together in an online alliance under the
slogan "Every Little Hurts".

Tescopoly, an umbrella group backed by unions and international
organizations, says the website will bolster thousands of campaigners in
their efforts to defeat supermarket planning applications across
Britain. "We're witnessing a national movement," said Vicki Hird,
Tescopoly's spokeswoman. "Tesco is a bully using its huge legal might to
lodge appeals against planning applications that are turned down by
local authorities, and the people are taking a stand against that.". . .


In Inverness, residents have mobilised against an attempt to expand
proposals for a fourth Tesco supermarket in an area in which the
multinational already controls 51% of the market. Activists say the
proposed store, near Loch Ness, will increase congestion, damage tourism
and pollute the environment. Anne Walker, 52, was one of 300 residents
who attended a community meeting last month to oppose Tesco's plans to
extend their planning application for a fourth supermarket.

"They laid out about 100 chairs to start with because there was a
terrible storm that night," she said. "But hundreds and hundreds of
people came. Apart from one lady, we were all against the application.
That night I went home and drew up a petition form. The way this has
taken off has gobsmacked me. I got 1,000 names in less than two weeks."

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