Dis-Asda on the Old Kent Road!

Sun Mar 2 22:48:43 GMT 2003

***Please circulate this far and wide***

Campaigners living on the Old Kent Road feel that they do not need another supermarket development and have decided to resist Asda's attempts to move in. Find out how you can support their campaign No War! No Wal-Mart!

Asda is planning to build a superstore on the Old Kent Road, Southwark, South London between Ossory Road and Malt Street with over 500 car parking spaces.

The Old Kent Road already has Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, McDonalds, PC World, B&Q, Halfords and Toys R Us, but what the 100,000 people who live within a one square mile radius of this site do not have are decent community facilities.

Traffic, pollution and respiratory disease are at an all time high along this most polluted stretch of road in London, which also, ironically, has the lowest car ownership in London.

Since the Asda site was squatted in September, the Ossory Road Yard has hosted community events, children's weekends, discussion groups, banner and puppet making workshops and an anti-War forum. With more time they want to build a kid's adventure playground, plant on the land and create a genuinely community-run space.

The current occupants have been given 'notice to evict' and are expecting balliffs to arrive in March.

Across the USA, from Puget Sound to the Gulf of Mexico, from Maine to Arizona, communities are fighting the Wal-Mart/Asda juggernaut. Their expansion across Britain is not inevitable as long as we unite to oppose them.

The group invites people to help build defences, create anti-Wal-Mart art installations, green the land or get in touch with them to co-ordinate anti-Asda actions in your local area.

They have a warm and welcoming space available with guest rooms and a communal kitchen and lounge, but bring what you expect to find and call to let them know you are coming.

Contact the Ossory Road Social Centre on 07769 791387 or 07742 452 456480.
Or email: ossoryrd at breathe.com.

Directions to site: Ossory Road, off the Old Kent Road, South London. Take buses 53 or 172 from Elephant and Castle, 21 from London Bridge or 78 from Liverpool Street. Get off two stops after Tesco on the Old Kent Road. Ossory Road is on your right.

To read 'Nine reasons why not to shop at Asda', see the Corporate Watch website. http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/news/resist_asda.htm

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On 4th Feb, the EC decided to take the UK Government to Court, as they have failed to demand Environmental Impact Assessments on a number of high profile proposed developments, including the Old Kent Road Asda, and the Crystal Palace multi-screen cinema that fell through due to a successful campaign of direct action in 1998. If the UK Government is shown to be in the wrong, this may have a wide impact on UK planning law.
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Southwalk alternatives to shopping at supermarkets

Food markets

Waterloo Market, Lower Marsh (behind Waterloo Station) 10.30am 2pm daily.

Brixton Market (by Brixton Station) Mon, Tue, Thur-Sat 8am-6pm; 8am-3pm
Wed.

Borough Market (London Bridge Station around Borough High Street) (0207 407 1002/) Open noon-6pm Fri; 9am-4pm Sat.

Peckham Farmer's Market (Peckham high street by Peckham Library) Sunday 9.30am 1pm

Wholefood shops

Fairshares Worker's co-operative at 56a Crampton St (by Elephant and Castle) Thurs 2 - 8 pm and Friday 3 7pm. Info shop also open: Saturday 1.30 5.30 pm.

Camberwell Greens, 41 Grosvenor Park, Camberwell fresh fruit and veg -
020 77031260

Coopers natural Foods, 17 Lower Marsh (By Waterloo Station) Tel: 020 7261
9314 Open: Mon to Fri 8.30am-5.30pm.

Brixton Wholefoods, 59 Atlantic Road, Brixton.Tel: 0207 737 2210.
 Open: Mon to Sat 9.30am-5.30pm (Closes Mon & Fri 6pm)

Order a box of vegetables from Green Adventure Tel: (020) 7277 2529 GREEN ADVENTURE in Camberwell, South London is working on a number of food growing activities, including a community garden, a community orchard on Camberwell Green and a box scheme, which supplies around 70 boxes of Camberwell-grown produce to local households each week.

Farm-A-Round - Fresh Veg & Fruit Boxes - 020 7627 8066

Support small independent retailers along the Old Kent Road.

Grow your own!! Find out about allotments in your area call Southwark Council on 7525 1050