Trilogy Planning Poll of Cinderford Residents

A poll of 1,000 Cinderford residents about proposals for a new supermarket in the town commissioned by Trilogy in December 2011.

Date Published: 13 Jan 2012

Categories: Business | Consumer | Public and communities | Retail & Consumer | UK

Description

ASDA COMES OUT ON TOP IN SURVEY

Following the decision in December to consider both Asda and Sainsbury’s proposals for Cinderford at the same planning committee later this month, Trilogy Developments sought the advice of leading independent market research agency, ComRes, to carry out a comprehensive survey of public opinion  - sampling 1,003 residents from Cinderford and the outlying areas just before Christmas.

The results clearly show that more people would like to see an Asda supermarket in Cinderford than a Sainsbury’s store.

The survey also shows that more people believe Asda would be the more popular choice, that it would better serve the needs of local people, and that it would provide better value for money.

Trilogy commissioned ComRes to conduct this independent poll to determine which proposal was more popular among local people, despite the potential risk that Asda may not have come out on top. 

The survey asked both male and female respondents of all ages a range of questions about their shopping preferences as well as their views towards both proposals.

Some of the key statistics to be returned in the report are:

• 51% of Cinderford town residents say that they would prefer an Asda store at Steam Mills compared with just 34% who would prefer Sainsbury’s plans

• Although the respondents in areas outside of Cinderford tend to slightly favour Sainsbury’s, the overall survey area (Cinderford and outlying areas) shows that 45% favour Asda over 37% who favour Sainsbury’s

• An overwhelming majority of people (83%) say that they would like to see a supermarket development happen in the next 12 months. Trilogy’s scheme at Steam Mills is much easier to deliver than Sainsbury’s scheme at Rothdean because it does not require the same significant excavation works and decontamination. As a result, Trilogy is able to deliver a supermarket at least a year before Sainsbury’s can

• 94% say that the price of goods is an important factor in choosing which supermarket to shop in

• 99% of respondents also describe “value for money” as important in choosing where to shop, and three times as many people think that Asda (48%) would offer good value for money compared with those who think Sainsbury’s (16%) would

• 43% of people feel that Asda would better meet the needs of local people compared to just 12% who think Sainsbury’s would better cater for local needs

Managing director of Trilogy, Patrick Stones said:

“I am grateful for the huge amount of support that local people have shown for our proposals in Steam Mills over the last year, which led to the selection of Asda as our operator in September. However, the late arrival of Sainsbury’s had delayed progress with our development by 6 months and I therefore commissioned this independent survey in a hope to confirm that an Asda store at Steam Mills Road was the right choice for the people of Cinderford.

Since ComRes is a well respected, independent polling company, the survey had the potential to backfire horribly. However, we were confident from our own discussion with residents that Asda would come out on top and are thrilled to learn that our confidence was not misplaced.

We very much hope that the members of Forest of Dean Council’s Development Control Committee will have the views of the public in mind when determining our planning application at the end of this month”.

Property Communications Manager for ASDA, Oliver Jones said: 

“When we’re all feeling the pinch, it’s not surprising that value for money is such a key deciding factor. ASDA is guaranteed to be 10% cheaper than our rivals such as Sainsbury’s or we’ll give you the difference.

“We’re really proud that the public are backing our proposals and hope that this message gets through to the council.”