Wells had been a quiet ecclesiastical   backwater of only about 5,000 souls for some five hundred years when the advent of the railway to Wells, in 1863, gave our City good access to the greater world beyond. No doubt the effects on trade and the local economy would have been comparable to the advent of  a motorway or freeway  today.

However, the story is told that all this brash new economic activity was not to the liking of the Ecclesiastical Authorities who preferred Wells to remain unspoilt and somewhere around the 1880s they ‘lobbied’ the City Council to bring in a By Law, which would prohibit the auctioning of livestock until 12 noon on market days. Apparently, the City fathers dutifully pulled their forelocks and Wells livestock market died and with it ended ‘rude’ commercial expansion here. The increase in trade went to such neighbouring towns as Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet where weekly livestock markets had an early morning start. These neighbouring  markets continued even until the 1960s or 1970s.

However, this may now be about to end.

A Council Plan seems to be afoot to force a very large new Tesco monopoly mega-store on Wells; the type of store that sells in every corner of the retail sector – both food and non-food –wiping out all local shops.  The ‘WalMart-isation’  of   Wells.

The site for this mega-store would be the Princes Road Council Car Park and contiguous land, including the Independently run Priory Road Pay & Display Car Park. See Map.

The Council appears to have an unwritten long term Policy which is to sell off as much car parking  as it can, thus reducing overall parking spaces to the detriment of the City whilst later perhaps doubling all-day parking charges for the fewer remaining spaces to about £10 per day. This way, because of an artificially created shortage of parking and a parking monopoly between Mendip Council & a new Tesco mega-store, they could make more money from fewer spaces.  This is totally immoral and would permanently damage our City.

Wells would be faced with a treble ‘whammy’  – Not only would the old City Centre retail sector be destroyed; not only would City Centre car parking be lost by being built on or otherwise monopolised by the new Tesco; but the very last City Centre space left, which could be used for a tourist hotel and tourist car park, would be lost forever, thus preventing an economic resurgence even with ‘Grey Tourism’. What is more, a Travelodge Motel and/or a car  park, as mooted, way out on the Relief Road would not be suitable for such grey tourism.

Moreover, a new Tesco monopoly would so undermine the local economy  that with many City Centre shops closed there would be little money available for the expensive upkeep of the old buildings and townscape and few tourist Pounds/Dollars available for the building maintenance of even the Cathedral Complex. Wells would be in extreme danger of falling into a deep decline, with many buildings left un-repaired when needed.

Wells is unique. It is the smallest City in England and yet has the most complete medieval Cathedral and Precincts in Europe and is still set in its original rural setting.  We must not let it be destroyed by Council stupidity and supermarket greed.  Moreover, Wells along with Glastonbury (the birthplace of Christianity in Britain) have recently been nominated for World Heritage Status.

Please sign our on-line Petition.