Tesco coul d close us.... again! Worry for the future as giant moves in.

Byline: KATIE DAVIES

CORNER shopkeepers driven out by Tesco fear the same thing is about to happen again.

Mark and Sue Davison, who own a fruit and veg shop on Coatsworth Road, Gateshead, were forced to close their shop in Market Square, Bedlington, Northumberland, when Tesco opened nearby.

Now, Gateshead Council have approved an application for a Tesco Express on the site of the former Honeysuckle Arms pub on Coatsworth Road, in Bensham - just yards away from their new shop.

The couple fear they will be now be forced to call it a day for a second time.

Dad-of-five Mark, whose children are all under 14, said: "It will probably close most of the shops around here. We still might get some of the locals coming in and using the shop but it's really going to affect us.

"We have five kids to look after I don't know what we are going to do if we have to close."

Sue, who has been running the shop since January, added: "When the Tesco opened in Bedlington we were open a few weeks but we just couldn't stay open. The same thing will happen here, it will kill us. This is what we live for, this little shop.

"The business has been in the family for seven years and it would be such a shame."

The bid from Tesco was approved by councillors on Wednesday, despite 1,204 people signing a petition to voice their objections.

The new Tesco will create 20 jobs, but council bosses also received 1,582 objections about the development.

Businesses on Coatsworth Road have raised concerns about its impact on their trade.

Shaki Ghafoor, who owns the Nisa store on Coatsworth Road, said: "Within six months of the Tesco opening there will be about four or five businesses that go out of business - I guarantee it. "I don't know why I need another shop - people have got everything they need here.

"The store is situated right on a pelican crossing and people will end up parking on the crossing because there is nowhere else for them to park. It will put people's lives at risk."

Some traders are confident they will be able to keep up with Tesco's competition.

Ross Clarke, 28, who owns Specials, which sells anything from food to electrical goods, said: "I'm not really bothered if they come or not. It won't affect me - everything I sell will be much cheaper than Tesco anyway.

It will probably attract more people to the area."

Claudia Ercolano, 22, who works in a family-run DIY store, said: "I don't think Tesco will sell that much DIY stuff so I think we should be OK.

"We were worried at first but when we thought about it we realised we would be OK."

Meanwhile, others have questioned the need for another Tesco just a few minutes away from the major new store being built in Gateshead town centre.

Barbershop owner Bahman Khoshkam, 43, said: "We already have enough shops here. We don't need another Tesco - we have a big one opening just down the road."

Gateshead Council received a planning application in January to change signage and alter the property outside. But due to a loophole, permission to change the pub into a shop was not needed.

Tesco corporate affairs manager Doug Wilson said: "We have listened to previous objections to the proposal from council officers and made changes to the application." Gateshead Council's director of development Paul Dowling, said: "This case is an example of how planning laws can be very odd.

"We are not legally allowed to consider the loss of trade to, or competition with, existing businesses as part of our decision on planning applications, nor in this case does the change of use from a pub to a shop require planning permission."

The road is in one of 11 priority retail centre areas identified for regeneration and will be part of a pounds 1.9m project backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund's Townscape Heritage Initiative to revive the Victorian feel of Coatsworth Road.

Congestion, parking and traffic: one mum's fears SHOPPERS on Coatsworth Road raised concerns about traffic, parking and congestion when Tesco opens it doors.

Mum-of-seven Louise Ackerley, of the Teams, Gateshead, often shops in the fruit and veg shop on Coatsworth Road.

She said the parking will only get worse when the Tesco opens.

She said: "The parking on this street is ridiculous and it will get even worse. The traffic gets really bad along the road anyway and often it takes 10 minutes to drive down.

"We have got all we need on the road. There is a lovely community spirit along here and all this will be taken away. "The pub should have been made into a community centre or something for the children."

CAPTION(S):

CHEESED OFF Fruit shop owners Sue and Mark Davison UPBEAT Ross Clarke at his Specials store DEFIANT Barbershop owner Bahman Khoshkam, DIY store boss Claudia Ercolano and Shaki Ghater from Nisa COMMUNITY Shops on Coatsworth Road - like High Streets all over the country have been battling the tough economic climate but kept going