Petersfield's town-centre survey reveals stuff

An artist's impression of how the town centre will

look in 2012 with, left, and without investment

A survey among Petersfield residents to discover which businesses should fill vacant lots in the town has thrown up few surprises.

Top of the list was a ‘second Waitrose with parking only for 4x4s’ closely followed by Barbour. ‘A Porsche dealership’ was third, while Primark had support from only one per cent of those surveyed coming out of Waitrose. Fortnum & Mason was another popular choice among the middle-aged.

Major Hold-Ups, a retired army veteran who now works for the Highways Agency, threw his weight behind an ‘Army Recruiting Office’.

“That’d sort ‘em out,” he blustered. “Oh, and an S&M club. Not much by way of that around here currently.”

A surprising number of people surveyed coming out of the 99p Store said they would welcome a 98p Shop as “times were hard”.

Teenagers admitted they preferred to shop “anywhere rather than Petersfield” and their most popular shops were those used either by their peers or by some twat on TV.

A DIY store and garden centre is sadly lacking according to Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh, who live at Titchmarsh, near Alton.

Dimmock said: “We believe the town would benefit from a water feature and some decking; but since Focus closed there’s simply nowhere to buy the essential pieces.” 

Other popular choices included coffee shops, ‘upmarket’ charity shops, a store when you can buy extended guarantees and a delicatessen specialising in sun-dried tomatoes.

East Hampshire Council, which conducted the survey, admitted that most of the answers had been predictable and that the survey was, to all intents and purposes, a waste of money.

A spokesman said: “Most of the answers were predictable and the survey was, to all intents and purposes, a waste of money. It didn’t matter what stores people want they’re not going to move into Petersfield town centre until the rents drop substantially. And that’s not going to happen all the time the landlords want to turn the properties into flats.

“Without some investment the town centre could become a ghost town – or a car park, and it’s well on its way to that as anybody visiting on a Sunday will tell you.”

Retail giants queue up to deny Petersfield interest

Bakery Lane - plans for a Burger King have been put on hold

Hot on the heels of fast-food giant KFC’s announcement that it does not “currently have any plans to open a restaurant in Petersfield”, comes news that other major High St brands are also not coming to the East Hampshire market town.

Fortnum & Mason has denied rumours it was to open a store in the building which previously housed the Market Inn, while IKEA dismissed claims it was to open a branch in the flat above Rowswell’s newsagents as “pure speculation”.

Meanwhile the Burger King branch planned for Bakery Lane has been put on hold owing to the “changeable economic climate” and Dixons has suspended its plans for a superstore next to the ice-cream kiosk on the heath.

However, a spokesman for caravan giant Pikeys ‘R Us has confirmed an encampment will move into the car park at the now defunct Focus store “as soon as we can move those ****ing great lumps of concrete”.

In other retail news, rumours abound that Timothy White’s, Lyons Corner House and C&A have all expressed interest in moving to Petersfield just as soon as the town drags itself into the 1960s.

You mop up wine - Fresco rakes in profits

  Fruit professionally stacked. How do you like those apples?
   

Petersfield supermarket Fresco's is to introduce a new interactive shopping experience where customers will be able to stack the shelves themselves.

Store manager Hugh Canduit explained: “Some time ago we introduced a bank of self-service tills and these have proved to be a huge hit with customers.

“Using a self-service till couldn’t be simpler. You scan your own goods using the bar-codes; it only takes customers eight times longer than an experienced member of staff to do this.

“There will inevitably be one or two items that won’t scan, so you need to factor in two or three additional minutes to attract a member of staff for assistance.

“If there is a problem with the bar code, the member of staff can normally rectify the situation easily by tapping in a 246-digit number which negates the need to scan the item.

“You can also redeem vouchers at the self-service till; although this is complicated and does hold up the queue. It’s probably best to use these another day.

“If you have purchased an item which has a security tag that needs to be removed such as a pack of razor blades, you will also need to attract the attention of a member of staff. Don’t be put off by the withering look you may get.

“Weighing fruit and vegetables can also really slow up the process, so we always suggest that our customers buy packaged items where possible; it’s much quicker that way, and the manufacturers can only add so much sugar and salt after all.

“Of course you will need to pack your own bags; this will take a little longer, mainly because you need to factor in a minute or two to prise the wafer thin plastic buggers apart and then open.

“Then you need to process your parking ticket and your loyalty card which normally adds a few minutes to the process for the uninitiated. If at this point you realise you wanted cashback, you simply finish your transaction and head outside to join another queue at the 'hole-in-the-wall'. It couldn't be simpler.”

It is no wonder that the self-service tills have been such a hit with anyone who has half-an-hour to spare and Canduit believes the shelf-stacking scheme will be equally as popular.

“We have no doubt the shelf-stacking scheme will be equally as popular”, he added, making the previous paragraph superfluous.

“At one time we had to provide a customer service, now the customers are happy to chip in and do the work themselves as is clearly evident at the self-service tills. Customers will be able to stack shelves from March and this is really only the beginning.

“Later in the year customers will be able to mop the aisles when there has been a spillage and collect trolleys from the bays around the car park and bring them to the entrance.

“This will mean cleaner aisles and improve the likelihood that there will be a trolley available for customers as they arrive."

Canduit was asked whether this wasn’t really about reducing staff overheads and maximising profits, but he was made redundant before he had a chance to answer.