People power has been praised for forcing Tesco to re-think plans to move into a deprived area of Brighton as well as making sure a planning application from Starbucks went to a public inquiry. But is there a danger these campaigns will prevent much-needed regeneration and actually hold back the city? Business editor Sam Thomson reports.

You could almost hear the sighs of relief around Brighton and Hove when Tesco finally ended its interest in the London Road area of the city.

Ever since the supermarket giant expressed an interest in moving there were loud voices of protest against the plans.

It didn't matter that London Road is desperately in need of regeneration, with empty shops and tatty buildings not only blighting the view for residents but giving a dismal impression to visitors driving down one of the main gateways into the city.

It didn't matter that Tesco's proposal would have revitalised the area by building a large department-style store, around which could be built a huge number of homes, shops and offices.

What mattered was that the people had spoken. They had told Tesco they didn’t want them.

The campaign against the corporation was spearheaded by Another London Road (ALR), which held a series of meetings, street stalls and leaflet drops arguing against the plans.

Hilary Harris, of ALR, said: “The overwhelming response from the public has been that what is needed for the area is regeneration on a more human scale.

“They would like to see encouragement for independent traders and for small businesses, not another supermarket and particularly not a Tesco of the size proposed.”

According to ALR, a development anchored by Tesco would lead to a huge increase in traffic, making the air quality much worse in an area which is already one of the most congested and polluted in the city.

The group also claimed that local traders would be killed off as they would be unable to compete on price with the multi-national chain.

Campaigners celebrated victory earlier this month when Tesco ended its interest in London Road, citing the negative public reaction as one of the reasons behind its decision.

ALR's success has been mirrored by a similar public fightback against another large corporation.

Kemp Town resident Jon Barrenechea was inspired to set up a Facebook campaign against Starbucks when he saw a planning application on a St James's Street shop window.

He said: “It really hit me at a gut level. Anyone who lives there knows there are already a lot of really nice coffee shops. It looked like an invasion.”

The Facebook group quickly ballooned from 40 members to its current level of more than 1,800.

A letter-writing campaign was started and demonstrations held outside the shop. The campaign culminated in the application being referred to a public inquiry, held this week, which will give its final decision in July.

Mr Barrenechea is modest about his campaign's achievements and believes Starbucks has only itself to blame for people's negative perceptions.

He said: “There were a lot of objections without us co-ordinating them. There were 427 letters to the council objecting and only about 150 to 200 of them were from us.

“Of all the big chains, Starbucks has the capacity to attract the most public ire. Primarily this is because it's the biggest, with more than 40,000 outlets. It's also American rather than British so all its profits are going to shareholders in Wall Street.

“It is very aggressive in its practices and goes into an area to squeeze people out rather than engage with the community.”

In a city like Brighton, it is not hard to drum up support for a fight against major corporations like Tesco and Starbucks.

ALR attracted a huge amount of support from London Road traders and residents but, while many will applaud the group's efforts, not everyone may agree with its long-term aims.

These were outlined by Ms Harris, who said: “No one denies that London Road is in need of some regeneration but people like the scale and feel of the area as it is now and the fact that, to a large degree, it serves the needs of the local community.”

This claim would be argued by traders such as Ed Bagshaw, owner of Kodak Express in London Road, who said he was always much more open minded about the arrival of Tesco.

He is more worried about the consequences of doing nothing more than the consequences of another large retailer moving in.

Mr Bagshaw said: “If something is not done we will just keep plodding along. London Road just seems to be left to rot and there are more and more empty shops appearing every day.

“People have to be careful that they don't campaign so much that nothing gets done.”

This is also a concern for Simon Fanshawe, chairman of the Brighton and Hove Economic Development Partnership, who said: “We need to be careful what we wish for or against.

“When Tesco pulled out there was a big shout of 'hurrah' but people need to realise the huge potential of that site.

“All that completely unproductive area is in the middle of the city, next to the train station with loads of bus routes so there would be no increase to our carbon footprint.

“There is a huge demand for the right kind of space and we could create a digital media hub there as well as a home for other service industry jobs.

“Can you imagine 2,000 people buying lunch in London Road? But we have to find a way to fund that.”

Mr Fanshawe disagreed that Tesco would kill off competition from businesses in the area and would instead bring hundreds of potential shoppers into the location every day.

He believes many people are prejudiced against the chain, although he can understand why.

Mr Fanshawe said: “It if was Waitrose I don't think we would see the same level of hostility.

“There is a prejudice we need to get over, although Tesco also needs to improve their relationship with the wider public.”

Would you back a store like Waitrose over Tesco for London Road? Join the debate below.