East Finchley's fight against a new supermarket gathered momentum this week as the Green Party's Jenny Jones branded the proposal a disaster.

London Assembly member Ms Jones visited the proposed site for a Waitrose food store, opposite East Finchley Tube station, on Friday.

"I think it would be disastrous if the store was built here," she said. "It's short-sighted to think that a new food store will be of any benefit to these people here. The traffic would be unbearable, and a lot of the smaller shops arounf here would suffer greatly," she said.

The planned superstore would stretch from the bridge next to East Finchley Tube station to Baronsmere Avenue. A number of businesses along the High Road would have to have compulsory purchase orders enforced upon them.

The store would also incorporate a new library casting a shadow on the future of the existing library on the High Street. Residents have set up a protest movement, Warning On Waitrose (WOW), to oppose the scheme.

However, Phillip Pearce, of site developers Kiafield, maintained that protesters are jumping the gun.

He is still to enter a planning application, or even decide upon a final plan.

"Whilst we fully understand people are concerned and wish to know more information regarding our proposals, blanket opposition without properly considering all the facts is premature.

"A full traffic assessment would be carried out before anything went ahead. No-one has spoken of a library being demolished," he said.

A meeting about the proposals drew a crowd of around 200 people to Martins School, High Street, East Finchley on Monday night.

January 29, 2003 17:30