Gran in Tesco boss planning war

The 50,000 seat stadium would see 71 houses bulldozed

A grandmother from Merseyside has applied for planning permission to demolish the home of Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy.

Dot Reid is retaliating against plans to bulldoze her home and 71 others in Kirkby, to make way for Everton's new stadium and a Tesco supermarket.

The 58-year-old said Sir Terry, who lives in a mansion in Hertfordshire, deserved a taste of his own medicine.

She plans to turn the site of the Tesco boss's house into a community garden.

The grandmother lives on Spicer Grove where there are a mix of bungalows and houses, which would be bought under a compulsory purchase order and demolished under the plans.

She helped set up a housing co-operative which was given government money to build the homes, which were finished in 1992.

I want Sir Terry to have a taste of what we have to put up with Dot Reid

She said: "These are more than just houses, they are homes.

"I have been living under the threat of losing my home for 18 months now and it is very stressful.

"I want Sir Terry to have a taste of what we have to put up with.

"When we found out about the plans by Tesco and Everton, we thought it was disgusting."

Mrs Reid has submitted an application to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council in Hertfordshire for permission to demolish Sir Terry's 1930s mansion in Cuffley.

'Publicity stunt'

Mrs Reid has plans for the site.

"It's going be a nice community area. Trees and ponds and a little play area for the children, somewhere for the old people to go and sit and relax."

A council spokeswoman said: "Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has received a planning application from a resident of Kirkby relating to the demolition of a property in Cuffley and use of the space as a community garden.

"This application will go through the normal planning process."

A spokesman for Tesco said: "This is just a publicity stunt.

"Unlike this application, for our application we spoke to hundreds, if not thousands, of residents in Kirkby, the vast majority of whom recognise this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which will create 2,000 jobs."

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