Pensioners support supermarket expansion proposal

3:55pm Monday 26th March 2001

ELDERLY residents have come out in support of a proposed supermarket extension which they say will help vulnerable people in the community.

The planned extension to the Sainsbury's supermarket in Beaconsfield has caused controversy in the town, particularly among householders in Maxwell Road and Garvin Avenue.

But Catherine Munday, 81, of The Hollies, in Maxwell Road, said that the store enables her and her friends in two nearby sheltered housing schemes to retain their independence for longer as they are able to walk there to shop.

She added: "The extension means that the store will have wider aisles which is a great help for people with walking frames and wheelchairs.

"The bigger store would also have a cafe which would be very useful if you are shopping in Sainsbury's you don't want to walk all the way into town for a coffee."

Mrs Munday has refuted claims from anti-extension campaigners that the proposed two-storey car park would be a hotspot for crime.

She explained that extra parking offered to residents in the expanded car park would help reduce dangerous parking on the side of the road, making it safer for pedestrians.

She added: "As a pedestrian, when you come out of Sainsbury's, the cars parking on the bend obscure the view of the road and it can be very dangerous to cross."

Mrs Munday's support of the plan comes in the wake of angry protests from residents who argue the store extension will intrude into their nearby homes and gardens.

Derek Morris, of Garvin Avenue, met with Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve last week to protest about the planned extension.

He said: "Nobody is against wider aisles and the coffee shop but why do they need a multi-storey car park?"

Sainsbury's public relations department was unavailable to comment on Friday and yesterday.

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