When the people of Moseley speak they speak loud. When the people of Moseley speak they usually say “We don’t want it”.
For those people that quite literally didn’t want a new Tesco this week has brought good news. Across Moseley, people with a keen interest in local history are delighted that the derelict site in the middle off our fine shopping district has been saved for future generations.
When plans for a new shop/medical centre/sheltered housing first came to light, residents were quick to write a list of things that Moseley doesn’t want. This includes:-
- Better shops
- Access to medical treatment
- Jobs
- Economic development
- Contaminated land being cleaned
The preservation of the derelict site means that the massive rat population will not need to be rehoused, local drug users will not need to find somewhere else to shoot up and Benzene can continue to leak from the disused petrol station into the wider area.
The main complaint against the proposed plan was outlined to us by a local historian, “What most people don’t realise is that this site is dripping with local colour. Did you know that this is the very spot where Oswald Mosley first saw a meteorite thus giving our village its name? Is better access to medical facilities really a fitting tribute to the father of British fascism?”
The claim that the development of a new Tesco would have brought new jobs and economic development to Moseley was disputed by a mother we spoke to “I’m not having Hugo working in a shop, he’ll work in new media like his Dad, where he’ll speak incomprehensible babble and learn to dress like a twat.”
Concerns that the collapse of this plan will leave residents with nothing to complain about are a worrying reality.