Morrisons development plan for old Royal Mail depot, in Ascot Road, unveiled
6:33pm Friday 15th June 2012 in News By Mike Wright, Chief Reporter
Residents caught their first glimpse of what the West Watford Morrisons development, which promises to bring 300 new jobs to the area, could look like today.
The supermarket chain revealed its designs to turn the vacant Ascot Road Royal Mail Depot into a superstore with offices, houses, a hotel and a potential new school.
The proposals showed the supermarket on the southern end of the site, with the 450-space car park on the western side behind it.
North of the supermarket are two blocks of new houses and flats with a new school on the north western side of the site.
The Ascot Road side of the site is earmarked for a new hotel and new offices which are surrounded by trees.
The drawings were unveiled in a presentation inside the old depot this afternoon.
Richard Haynes, development executive for Morrisons, said: “This site has got massive potential for regeneration and is desperately in need of it, especially since the sorting office has closed.
“It will bring jobs back and make it a much more pleasant place for people to be.”
The move comes as Morrisons, which has most of its stores in the north of the country, is undertaking a push to expand its presence in the south.
The corporation secured a long lease on the Watford Borough Council-owned site a few months ago.
The regeneration scheme comes after it was announced a new Metropolitan Line tube station will be built nearby in Ascot Road as part of the Croxley Rail Link.
Since Morrisons acquired the Royal Mail depot it has fallen victim to vandals and break-ins, leaving the inside of the vast building strewn with rubbish and with windows smashed.
In recent weeks the company has hired security to protect the site.
The redevelopment plans are still at an early stage and could be altered, but Morrisons hope to have a formal planning application submitted by the summer.
If the plan is approved the company said the store could be open for Christmas 2013.
Early reaction to the scheme was largely positive, although residents voiced concerns that it could draw more traffic to West Watford’s already congested roads.
Jenny Thomas, from Cassiobury Park Avenue, welcomed the superstore but was concerned more homes could add more pressure to local services such as GP.
She said: “I think it is good, this site needs redevelopment and there is no supermarket on this side of West Watford.”
Another interested resident at today’s presentation was unemployed 50-year-old, David Tyarman, of Whippendell Road, who lost his job at Krispy Kreme doughnuts earlier this year.
He said had been interested to know when the store would be recruiting.
Mr Tyarman added: “It’s only around the corner. I will be able to do my shopping here as well.”
The presentation is open again tomorrow at the Royal Mail depot in Ascot Road between 10am to 4pm.
Source: www.watfordobserver.co.uk
As M&S becomes latest supermarket to offer 'quality' budget lines one mother shows how you can save £750 a year without tasting the difference - Daily Mail
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Its food is a byword for quality — at a price. But now M&S has launched a range of ‘basic’ products at knock-down prices. In the past year, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco have also updated their cut-price value ranges, so how does the new Simply M&S selection compare? Mother-of-three AMANDA CABLE finds out...
BAKED BEANS
SIMPLY M&S Baked beans in rich tomato sauce
Simply M&S, 40p for 410g
Verdict: Sweet and almost identical to market leader Heinz, which cost 69p for 415g, a saving of almost 29p a tin – which in our household is 87p a week, or 48.72 a year. Simply M&S contained far more juice than the rival Essential Waitrose. Score: 7/10
We also tried: Morrisons M Savers (28p per tin), Asda Smart Price (26p per 410g), Essential Waitrose (41p per 400g), Sainsbury’s Basics Beans in Tomato sauce (26p for 420g), The Co-operative Simply Value (30p for 410g), Tesco Everyday Value Baked Beans (26p for 420g).
Overall winner: Morrisons M Savers. Thick, tasty beans for just 28p a tin – a saving for my family of 68.88 a year. In our own ‘blind’ taste test, my bean-loving children preferred these to Heinz and M&S.
Avoid: Asda Smartprice Baked Beans — mushy, with too much sauce and not enough flavour.
SIMPLY M&S Sliced white bread
SLICED WHITE BREAD
Simply M&S, 69p for 800g
Verdict: What a winner. It has a fresh smell, a soft texture and is incredibly tasty. Market leader Hovis costs 1.25 for a loaf the same size, so this switch represents a saving of 56p a time, which is a whopping 53.76 a year for my family. A good switch, especially because all the other budget alternatives tasted of plastic. 10/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price sliced white bread (47p for 800g), Essential Waitrose (69p for 800g), The Co-operative (59p for 800g), Morrisons M Savers (47p for 800g), Tesco Everyday Value sliced white bread (47p for 800g).
Overall winner: Simply M&S. The only budget bread worth buying.
Avoid: All the other budget breads, but particularly offerings from Asda Smart Price and The Co-operative, which were dry, thin, tasteless and curled when toasted.
SIMPLY M&S 8 Pork Sausages
PORK SAUSAGES
Simply M&S, 1.19 for 454g
Verdict: The pork content is just 60 per cent — hence the budget price — and the taste was average. I normally buy Debbie & Andrew’s Harrogate Pork Sausages at 2.39 for 400g. Switching to Simply M&S would save me 1.20 a go — or 67 a year. But my children preferred other budget sausages which cost even less. 5/10
We also tried: Morissons M Savers Pork Sausages (56p for 8), Essential Waitrose (1.27 for 8), Asda Smart Price (84p for 12), Tesco Everyday Value (56p for 8).
Overall winner: Asda Smart Price. We cooked these alongside our Essential Waitrose sausages and couldn’t tell the difference. Golden, crisp skin and tasty pork inside. Morrisons M Savers were also delicious.
Avoid: Sainsbury’s Basics — lacked any real flavour.
SIMPLY M&S Orange juice
ORANGE JUICE
Simply M&S, 1.20 for 1litre
Verdict: Superb taste, which equalled market leader Tropicana (2.28 for 1litre). So by switching to Simply M&S, I will save a hefty 1.08 a carton, and 12.96 a month. But when we tried other budget juices, we found we could make even bigger savings, without compromising on taste. 8/10
We also tried: Morissons M Savers Orange juice (56p for 1L), Essential Waitrose (1.20 for 1L), Asda Smart Price (56p for 1L), The Co-operative Simply Value (1.69 for 2L), Tesco Everyday Value (56p for 1L).
Overall winner: The Co-operative. Smooth, great value and the children didn’t notice the difference between it and brand leader Tropicana.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — drink too much and it tastes like wallpaper stripper.
WAFER THIN HAM
SIMPLY M&S British wafer thin ham
Simply M&S Wafer Thin Ham, 1 for 120g
Verdict: Top marks for this fresh, wafer-thin ham, with no fat. Nothing cut-price here, and it would save me more than 200 a year. M&S has knocked 9p off the price since re-launching it within the Simply Range. 10/10
We also tried: Essential Waitrose – runner up (2.39 for 2x90g), Morrisons M Savers cooked ham (1.65 for 400g), The Co-operative (1.73 for 400g) Tesco Everyday Value (61p for 125g) Sainsbury’s Basics (1.65 for 400g). Asda Smart Price cooked ham (61p for 125g).
Overall winner: Simply M&S. Not only delicious, but stayed fresh for longer. Essential Waitrose was equally tasty but dried up faster.
Avoid: Morrisons M Savers ham — grey-coloured, watery and processed. One mouthful was enough, and even our dogs turned up their noses!
BEEF MINCE
SIMPLY M&S lean Minced Beef
Simply M&S, 2.70 for 500g
Verdict: Superb. A dark colour with little fat and an annual saving of 36.40. We found the budget rivals were high in fat and salt and looked, as my son Charlie put it, ‘like pale, fat worms’. 9/10
We also tried: Morrisons M Savers beef and pork mince (2.49 for 800g), Asda Smart Price (1.56 for 500g), Tesco Everyday Value (1.56 for 500g).
Overall winner: Essential Waitrose (2.09 for 250g). Low in fat and salt, and a rich, deep colour. Simply M&S came a close second — showing that when it comes to mince, you get what you pay for.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — fatty, and tasted metallic when fried.
WEETABIX
Simply M&S Wheat Bisks, 1.49 for 24
Verdict: Market leaders Weetabix cost 2.17 for 24. So this swap is worth 68p a go, or 32.64 a year for my family, and you won’t even notice the difference. Since re-launching their Wheat Bisks in their new Simply range, M&S has shaved 40p off the price per packet — one of its biggest cuts yet. 8/10
We also tried: Sainsbury’s Basics Wholewheat Biscuits (75p for 24) Essential Waitrose (1.49 for 24) Morrisons M Savers (63p for 24) Tesco Everyday Value Wheat Biscuits (63p for 24)
Overall winner: Sainsbury’s Basics. As tasty as the market leaders but at a price which makes sense to every household.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — small and liable to disintegrate as you take them from the packet.
CHOCOLATE DIGESTIVES
SIMPLY M&S Milk Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
Simply M&S, 86p for 300g
Verdict: Brand leader McVitie’s cost 1.75 for 400g — so the M&S version saves just under 89p a go, or almost 7 a month in our house. Impressively thick layer of chocolate, but it wasn’t the only budget range to triumph. 7/10
We also tried: Sainsbury’s Basics Milk Chocolate Digestives (41p for 300g), Asda Smart Price, (41p for 300g), The Co-Operative Simply Value (48p for 300g) Essential Waitrose (95p for 400g), Tesco Everyday Value (30p for 400g).
Overall winner: Asda Smart Price milk choc digestives. Identical to the delicious M&S biscuits (according to six children — mine and their friends — wearing blindfolds) but far cheaper.
Avoid: Paying extra for any brand name. Every budget biscuit we tried was delicious.
BUTTER
SIMPLY M&S English salted butter
Simply M&S English Salted Butter, 1.39 for 250g
Verdict: Creamy and delicious. A good swap for our usual Lurpak, which costs 1.60 for 250g. Choosing the Simply butter would save 21p a go — or shave 20.16 off my yearly butter bill. 8/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price Butter (1.19 for 250g), Sainsbury’s Basics Salted Butter (1.19 for 150g), The Co-Operative Simply Value butter (1.25 for 250g), Morrisons M Savers (1.19 for 250g), Essential Waitrose (1.19 for 250g), Tesco Everyday Value (1.19 for 250g).
Overall winner: The Co-operative Simply Value. Smooth, easy to spread but with a delicious salty taste. Just as good as our favourite Lurpak butter, but 35p cheaper.
Avoid: Tesco Everyday Value — a nasty yellow colour and appalling packaging.
SIMPLY M&S Peanut Butter
PEANUT BUTTER
Simply M&S, 1.38 for 340g
Verdict: Smooth, sweet and just as tasty as market leader Sunpat, which costs 1.49 for 340g. At 11p less for the Simply M&S version, this is a saving of 41 a year. 7/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price (62p for 340g), Sainsbury’s Basics (62p for 340g), Morrisons M Savers (62p for 340g), Essential Waitrose (1.31 for 340g), Tesco Everyday Value Peanut Butter (62p for 340g).
Overall winner: Asda Smart Price. Packed with nuts, and bursting with taste. In our blind taste test, the children rated this higher than M&S.
Avoid: Paying through the nose for brand labels, as all the budget ranges were delicious.
TEA BAGS
SIMPLY M&S Tea Bags 160
Simply M&S 80 Red Label Teabags, 1.31 for 80
Verdict: Strong, bursting with flavour and refreshing. A great alternative to our usual PG Tips, which cost 2.49 for 80, saving me 1.18 a time, or 28.32 a year. But other budgets teas fared well, with M Savers and Waitrose coming a close second. 10/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price (27p for 80), Morrisons M Savers round tea bags (27p for 80), Essential Waitrose (80p for 80), Tesco Everyday Value Teabags (27p for 80).
Overall winner: Simply M&S for flavour, but M Savers was also a winner for great value with taste.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — very weak, lacking in flavour and the colour of dishwater.
SIMPLY M&S 4 rolls toilet tissue
TOILET ROLL
Simply M&S Two-Ply toilet tissue, 1.99 for four rolls
Verdict: Disappointing. Felt and looked like a budget product, yet saved only 9p compared with market leader Andrex, though over a year this adds up to 4.32. 3/10
We also tried: Tesco Everyday Value (70p for four rolls), Sainsbury’s Basics (1.96 for six rolls), Essential Waitrose (1.88 for four rolls), Asda Smart Price (70p for four rolls), Morrisons M Savers (1.31 for four rolls).
Overall winner: Essential Waitrose. Soft and such good quality that you won’t be able to tell the difference between this and Andrex.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — rough texture and hard-to-flush cheap paper. Your bottom deserves better!
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Southend woman's face gouged during mugging - BBC News
A 22-year-old woman had her face gouged during a mugging by a gang in a park in Southend.
It happened at 12:30 BST on Tuesday in Southchurch Hall Park.
A female attacker scratched the victim's face while four men kicked her in the legs and waist and stole £62, store cards and a gold chain.
Det Con Rory Scarlett said: "This was an absolutely terrifying attack on a woman who was left severely distressed and covered in blood."
Police said one line of inquiry is that an organised gang may be responsible for a number of muggings in the area.
The victim, who asked to be named only as Leanne, has agreed to the police releasing a photo of her injuries.
Forced to groundShe told the police she was grabbed from behind and had her hair pulled back by the female who led the attack.
The four men helped force her to the ground and the gang stole her bag which contained the items.
Leanne was comforted by passersby until the police and paramedics arrived.
Essex Police said the female attacker is thought to be in her 20s, of mixed race and has dark hair in a pony tail.
Three of the men were black, wearing black or red hooded tops and thought to be in their early 30s.
The fourth man is described as white, in his 20s, of skinny build and wearing a black jumper.
Det Con Scarlett said: "We want to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident or from anyone who saw the attackers lurking in the park before the incident or running away afterwards."
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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