I'd Rather Have A Matchbox Car

Joyous expectation of a shiny new Matchbox car (”If you're good”) will fill a little boy's legs with super-human strength, allowing him to walk miles without complaint, without a moan, without a murmur. As every parent knows, a little bribery goes a long way.

I was four years old and walking hand-in-hand with my mum from our house in Springfield towards Meole Brace. We would have been heading along Oteley Road, the golf course on one side of us, open fields on the other. 

The Hazeldine Way link road from Meole to Rea Brook wouldn't have been even a twinkle in its daddy's eye at this point. Indeed, it's likely that its daddy (architect, road-builder, town planner) wasn't even born yet.

This was 1961, a time before 'link roads' and supermarkets and retail parks – and Shrewsbury looked very different to how it looks today. This was a time of thriving corner shops and even cute mobile shops which visited housing estates such as Springfield a couple of times each week. It was a time of the drama serial, Sir Francis Drake, on television, and Supercar, The Rag Trade, Danger Man, 77 Sunset Strip, and Bonanza.

Chubby Checker was doing The Twist while Helen Shapiro was Walking Back To Happiness.

But none of that mattered to me, of course. I was just looking forward to Mum buying me that Matchbox car. 

By the way, I swear I remember running my little four-year-old fingers across the coarse ferro-concrete wall of the 1933 bridge across the Rea Brook as we walked across it towards Hereford Road.

I'm fairly sure Mum and I must have been visiting relatives that day (probably Auntie Vi who lived on Hereford Road), but all I remember is my reward for being good - which turned out to be a little pale green Commer milk float – purchased from one of those nice little shops I was just talking about, a shop situated on the Hereford Road with houses either side. I think it's a laundrette now.

Yes, a great deal has changed since those days. For starters, we have the huge Meole Brace retail park with its Sainsbury's and Halfords and Pizza Hut and Toys R Us and . . . need I go on? And we also have (again where those open fields once were) the new Shrewsbury Town Football Club stadium.

But it's not going to end there, is it?

Not only are we to have a new Waitrose supermarket in Oteley Road (the go-ahead was given last month), but there's a good chance that yet another superstore is going to be squeezed in behind the BP garage at Meole Brace.

It surprised many of us that the Waitrose project got the green-light, considering the close proximity of the big Sainsbury's. But Waitrose is on its way in late 2014 as part of a £40 million scheme which will see Percy Thrower's Garden Centre relocated to new 60,000 sq ft purpose-built premises.

But now a report in support of the rival supermarket near the BP garage insists the viability of this Hereford Road store would not be affected by the Waitrose decision.

Now wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

Where has this report come from? Oh, it's come from Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners who were commissioned by the developers Morbaine who are the people wanting to build this new Hereford Road store.

I see. Oh, and the report adds helpfully that the town's other existing major supermarkets 'should be able to withstand' the arrival of the two new stores, given their current strong performance levels.

You know, I'm not sure I'm unduly worried about whether or not the other existing major supermarkets in Shrewsbury will be able to withstand the arrival of the two new stores. I imagine the mighty Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrrisons and Asda are quite big enough to look after themselves.

It's the small and independent shops in our lovely town centre that I'm more concerned about.

I'm no expert on 'footfall' or 'passing trade' and I certainly don't profess to be an expert on economics or population levels.

But just how much more 'out-of-town' retail development can our town centre take?

Simon Airey, owner of Corner Exotics and a former president of Shrewsbury Business Chamber, has said each additional supermarket will 'increasingly damage' the town centre economy.

There is a ring of truth and a ring of common sense about that.

Don't talk to me about yet another supermarket.

Frankly, I would much rather have a pale green Matchbox milk float.

I was then, and am now, easily pleased.