Waitrose

[Steve]

Thanks Steve. That was a waste of time. The website is nothing more than the leaflet reproduced. I suppose you could register an opinion online but beyond that I learnt nothing new. It would have been nice to see the site plan in more detail.

You're assuming there IS a more detailed site plan. This is a public consultation so they may not have finalised plans yet.

[WickenMan]

Fair point Steve, but with the aid of a strong magnifying glass some of the features on the existing plan can be discerned from the booklet. It seems from the font size that this image has been heavily reduced, just being able to see it at A4 size would have been nice.

[Andrew]

I downloaded the site plan and zooming in did not help in being able to read the smaller text. Not impressed.

[RichardH]

To be fair, all they have put on the website is a low resolution image suitable to fit on the website - so it's not suprising you can't zoom in to read it properly. That's what they need to do - offer a download of a high res PDF so you can get in and see the detail.

[Matt40]

I'm glad I am not the only struggling to see that plan! I began to question whether I needed to start wearing glasses!

[ReDan]

Having read the leaflet, I was surprised the only mention of the existing store was a comparison of relative store sizes.

As a Wareite working in Hertford, ironically the potential loss of the Hertford store makes more of a difference to me than any new store at Van Hage's (along with, presumably, those without access to a car who would be forced to drag their shopping from Van Hage's to the main road to catch a bus).

Surely they must know what they intend doing with the Hertford store, so why not give us some info. or would this supress the 'yes' vote if Hertford were to close?.....

[Steve]

Surely they must know what they intend doing with the Hertford store, so why not give us some info

Well, they don't know what they're doing with the Great Amwell store yet, so it's unlikely the future of the Hertford store would yet be decided. Remember, they've not submitted a planning application, let alone committed to the project. The future of a Hertford store might also depend on negotiations with the site owner.

[Scouter]

I agree, you wouldn't want to be concrete/ public about the Hertford store until everything is signed and sealed as it's commercially sensitive information. It might galvanise the powers that be in Hertford to try and keep the store or maybe help to relocate it if an Express model is viable.

[Matt40]

Additionally, i suspect waitrose would want to see any potential business loss as a result first. No point playing their hand, far too early.

[Scouter]

Did anyone make the presentation up at Van Hage yesterday or today? I was a bit rushed and only got a five minute gander but it expanded a little on what we already know. They said that Waitrose will definitely have a café albeit a small one, the unloading bay yard at the back will be accessed via an entrance exit just past the houses and it will be covered.