HERE is a copy of a letter I sent to Mr David Tyler, chairman of Sainsbury’s plc.

During the 1960s and 1970s Sainsbury’s had an enviable reputation as the cream of the supermarkets and towns and cities waited eagerly to be next on the company’s schedule.

With the occasional hiccup, the Upton Sainsbury’s in Wirral has been of real benefit to the people of Greasby and beyond with its efficiency, good restocking for the most part and friendly atmosphere. The wide age range of its employees, which is a company policy, is also appreciated.

This is why it was such a shock to see a petition form in my own newsagent just under two weeks ago protesting against the opening of a Sainsbury’s “Local” right in the middle of Greasby.

I immediately signed the petition and registered my protest on the Wirral Borough Council planning site so that the planning department should also realise that yet another Greasby resident was completely against the proposal.

As a customer of Sainsbury's for many years I want you to think seriously about the damage you are about to do.

“Corporate responsibility” sits badly with applying to set up a Local in the middle of Greasby knowing perfectly well that you will then be able to undercut the butcher, the florist, the greengrocer, the Co-Op, quite possibly the card shop and even the optician.

If you sell stamps you will affect the Sub-Post Office as well.

In another part of Wirral one of your arch rivals established its supermarket then set about eliminating the competition of a small row of independent shops not far away.

Sainsbury’s could restore its reputation in Greasby by willingly and publicly withdrawing its application for this unwanted Local.

Councils and their planning departments too need to listen to what their residents and local citizens tell them and not, as in Wirral, repeat the fiasco of the proposal to close libraries despite all the protests.

Evelyn Campbell Smith, Greasby