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Draft Letter to Tesco managers on bike rack provision


NOTE: There are nine tesco stores in the area with a tenth due to open shortly (junction of Vaughn Road and Pinner Road on the old Apollo pub site.

We should aim to send these out in early September.

 

In the meantime, comments appreciated

Dear Tesco Branch Manager,

I am writing to you on behalf of Harrow Cyclists, part of the London Cycling Campaign, to ask for your help in improving cycling in the borough.

 

In particular, we would like Tesco, as the UK's largest retailer, to help promote cycling by helping to increase the provision of secure bike parking racks in the vicinity of your store.

 

This could be accomplished in two ways.

 

  • The provision of a sufficient number of visible bike parking spaces near the entrance to those stores where Tesco has a car park under its control. In this respect, Tesco falls behind the large Sainsbury's and Waitrose stores in the Harrow area.

  • Offering to sponsor racks on the pavement outside those stores which do not have their own parking space – this applies in particular to the Express format stores. A Tesco financial contribution would help overcome present local authority budgetary constraints.

     

There is a Tesco business case for this.

Cycling in London has more than doubled over the past decade and is set for further exponential growth over the next five years.

Tesco now sells bikes and bike accessories.

Cycling offers many a way of shopping which is healthy, environmentally friendly and convenient.

In particular, cycling is ideal for the typical shopping basket at your Express stores as well as for smaller purchases at larger stores. If Tesco has facilities such as racks, then it will attract trade from cycle users rather than competitor stores.

This fits in with Tesco's Corporate Responsibility Report 2010 and the following Tesco core values

  • The success of our business depends on listening to people and responding to what they tell us.

  • Working with our customers to help the environment.

  • Playing our part in local communities.

We want to work with you and Harrow council on this. So please contact me so we can forge a way forward.

I have copied this letter to directors Andrew Higginson, the chief executive of retailing services and Lucy Neville-Rolfe who serves on the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change.