Another supermarket will be built in Prachatice, the petition was unsuccessful

Prachatice - In the twelve-thousand-strong town of Prachatice, another supermarket will be built, the fourth in order. It will be constructed by the company Tesco on land opposite the Vodňanská Primary School at a busy exit road to Strakonice and České Budějovice. Today, a majority of councilors decided on the sale of the land. About 1500 residents of the town are protesting against it in a petition, expressing their disapproval of the store near the center.
 "We have nothing against Tesco, but a store does not belong in this area. It should be located on the outskirts of the town," said Michal Smrčka from the petition committee. They managed to collect hundreds of signatures in just five days. Smrčka would prefer to see a green space or a place for relaxation instead. The plan is also not welcomed by opposition council members and small business owners. "About 80 percent of our customers do not want Tesco," noted Daniela Ilková, the owner of one of the grocery stores.
    The town hall has been trying to sell the land for the last four years. It has been offered in investment catalogs at various trade fairs. According to Mayor Jan Bauer, people would welcome a specialized DIY market in the town as well. "Companies like Obi or Baumax, however, have no interest in Prachatice and have never approached the town hall," said the mayor.
    The supermarket will be built on land next to the Komerční banka on Vodňanská street. The Prachatice councilors offered it for sale this spring. The company Sot Estates, belonging to the Dutch company Tesco Holdings, expressed interest. It presented a proposal for how the building should look. However, the evaluation committee had objections regarding the building's appearance and the traffic solution in the area. The investor could refine the proposal. Today, the study was presented to the councilors and to the people who came to the meeting.
   "The store will include 93 parking spaces. We will employ about 20 warehouse workers and salespeople. One fifth of the offered goods will be non-food items," said Zdeněk Vrátný, the representative of the investor.
    The town hall will receive 10.2 million crowns for the land area of 6500 square meters. Thus, one square meter costs 1570 crowns. At the same time, Tesco will build a new five-way roundabout at the intersection of Vodňanská and Nemocniční streets for approximately 15 million crowns and a playground for children. When the store will be completed is not yet clear. The roundabout is particularly welcomed by the police. According to the head of the Prachatice traffic police, Martin Grožaj, about ten percent of all accidents in the town occur at this busy location.