BERATE Sets Out Grim Vision Of The Future

Anti-Tesco campaign group and general tedious naysaying bores, BERATE, has today mapped out its grim vision of how North Street may look in the future, should Bristol City Council allow a Tesco superstore to be built on the current Ashton Gate stadium site. With the group stating, "All this could soon be desert scrubland."

Speaking on behalf of the poorly-acronymed moaners, a spokesman said, "At the moment there are loads of shops on North Street offering fantastic, personal service, a wide range of products not offered by Tesco and all at competitive prices. But, obviously, if Tesco builds a store round the corner, people will forget all that and just go there instead, because they prefer pushing a trolley round well-lit aisles and collecting Clubcard points. Everyone knows that."

Speaking in support of the feebly-backed campaign, one local shopkeeper said, "I sell lawnmowers, nails and that. If Tesco is allowed to open round the corner, it stands to reason that people will stop mowing their lawns or doing little DIY jobs round the house. It has to be stopped."

Another said, "I own a local coffee shop offering freshly-made cakes and a range of teas and coffees from around the world, where people like to come and meet their friends in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. But if Tesco is allowed to open, my customers will lose contact with their friends and won't drink coffee anymore. Or eat carrot cake. And the less said about how it will affect muffin sales, the better."

The BERATE spokesman went on, "If Tesco is given planning permission, we envisage this whole area being a desert within ten years. It's a crying shame, because these shops offer so much more than Tesco and a level of service and customer care that the big chains simply can't compete with."

With that in mind, we asked why they were so against the planning proposal, if that was the case, to which BERATE responded, "We just are. OK!?"