Uncomfortably familiar!

Traders in a Co Antrim town have vowed to continue their fight against a planned Tesco superstore in the area. Tesco plans a 30,414sq ft store for Ballycastle but traders say it will kill the town's commercial heart. At a Moyle District Council special meeting on Thursday, both sides had their say. A traders' spokesman called on residents to join them in saying no to Tesco: "Join us in saying to Tesco, if you continue to try to site your new store on the edge of town, you will destroy the town and community we love. We have lived here for generations and we are proud of the spirit and the community of Ballycastle. We will not give that up for the sake of extra profits for faceless investors from London. We will oppose this application and will continue to campaign to keep the heart in Ballycastle."
At Thursday's meeting, Tesco's Tony Fletcher said the Leyland Heights store would "make food shopping in Ballycastle better".
Stressing that they are not against new developments, but are against the site, the traders questioned the council on claims that similar edge-of-town stores had destroyed other towns. In a statement, the traders reiterated that they "are not against Tesco coming to the town, but we are against the site that they have chosen... if this store goes ahead, many town centre stores will simply close. What will that do to Ballycastle? Why would tourists want to come to a town that's dead on its feet?"