Competition is arising for local neighbourhood shops as a new Sainsburys is being built at Twickenham Station.

Late in October, work began to build a Sainsburys at Twickenham's new station. Last Monday, the shop began to take form as builders could be seen bringing in shelf parts. This will only make the struggle for survival post-lockdown even tougher for small local businesses, such as Foodland Express, which relies heavily on the students of the nearby college. However, their position might be under threat as the North-Twickenham Redevelopment Scheme (NTRS) is bringing in a wide variety of new businesses, and some larger corporations. Three new shops were opened on the Whitton Road corner last summer, where no competition once stood for Foodland. Those once empty offices have been converted into a "Dixie's Peri-Peri and Wings", a new Tesco Express and "Salt and Vinegar Fish and Chips". 

However, the first opened store of the NTRS was a small M&S Food to Go, which opened right before the first lockdown. The store had to close promptly and has not been open since. It's short life in jeopardy with the introduction of a new Sainsburys next to it.

On the other hand, by no means has the Twickenham Gateway Project been a success. Overshadowed by two delays in opening, expensive apartments and slots, a formerly unused Car Park road (South Crane Rd), and having sold less than 50% of apartments in just Phase One, which has remained that way for over a year. 

So, is this the death of North Twickenham's local businesses, or will it be the resparking of this former chain of Whitton Road shops, only to be opened on Rugby matchdays?