New Sainsbury's in Hertford, good or bad?

We've all read the local news on the new Sainsbury's plans in Hertford, and there appears to be lots of mixed reaction.

Lets look at the facts, do we really need a new supermarket?  Well, some say Tesco have had it their way for too long, and a new big boy in the town will give them something to think about.  It's true that another supermarket will leave us spoilt for choice, and may lead to one or two price wars between the two.

Also, think about parking, Tesco currrently operate a 2 hours free system, but we have all struggled many times on a Saturday afternoon to actually get into the car park!  An extra however many more spaces Sainsbury's will have, will make it so much easier to nip into the town to buy those essentials.

One of the main arguments towards the supermarket though are fears about killing off what's left in the town.  I believe this will not happen.  Hertford has been around for an extremely long time.  Speaking to local shop owners recently, I was quite surprised to hear quite a few positive reactions from them.  Most believe what they offer is individuality, something supermarkets can't do.  Take a look at the wide variety of shops in the town.  You could walk from St Andrews Street, after ordering a bespoke kitchen from Clover Kitchens, furnishing your house with antiques, picking up dry cleaning from The Press Room, hiring that fancy dress costume and stocking up on stationary from Hertfordshire Graphics.  Then over to The Natural Health Centre for anything from muscle supplements to Hopi Ear Candles.  Stop in Mr Simms for a trip down memory lane, and then next door for a pasty.  Hang around in Market Square for a coffee, check out the farmers market,  kit the kids out in Kids Connection and treat yourself in Lance James.

You get the picture, and that's not even half of the town!

Supermarkets have their place in everybodys lives, no one likes going to them, but people enjoy shopping.  So what people want is to enjoy a relaxed couple of hours, spending a few pounds wandering around at their leisure.  Which is why an Asda and a Morrisons could open too and not harm Hertford.  What's harming Hertford's businesses is ridiculous rates and lack of parking.  The individual choice in Hertford is incredible.  We are not like Stevenage or Harlow, and we are proud of that, people know and love their town, but sometimes they just need reminding of what it can do for them.