Mike Ford: I was geared up for Bristol's Berate round two

When the "Saviours of South Bristol" – Berate – were greeted with the news that Sainsbury's could potentially be opening a store on the current Ashton Gate site instead of Tesco last week, I expected outrage.

I expected there to be widespread panic over the news that another bid that wasn't affordable housing, or a community sports facility, had been put onto the table.

Surely this would sit badly for the people fighting tirelessly on behalf of the people of Southville? After all, they have sat there on YOUR behalf, eating whole wheat croissants in protest of faceless corporations coming into "their"– whoops, sorry – "our" area and ripping out our community spirit!

After all of their truly touching support on behalf of "us", I was all geared up for round two of Berate's unique brand of action. I was ready for another high-production YouTube video or a coffee morning in a church. But, what was that noise I could hear in the distance?

It was the screeching sound of a bandwagon doing a hand brake turn, mounting the central reservation, and speeding back the other way.

It seems, dear reader, that all of a sudden, when a more "acceptable" (ie middle-class) shop is proposed, all sins are forgiven. When asked by the BEP, residents and shopkeepers of the "heavily at risk" North Street "backed a new Bristol Sainsburys".

Unbelievable! As I have stated many times before, I suspected Berate's protest was nothing to do with the threat upon the area financially or environmentally, it was all to do with social prejudice. The people of Berate did not like the idea of a less classy supermarket opening nearby. They want to be able to keep the area middle class, and exclusive to them and their elite circle.

The more factually-challenged of you will state that there won't be a new supermarket, it will replace the old Sainsbury's and there will be new housing added.

This may be, but what about all of the kerfuffle you made regarding congestion and pollution in the area? Will a (bigger) Sainsbury's store have fewer cars and deliveries than Tesco? What about the proposed new housing?

This will create a more concentrated pattern of heavy traffic when new residents commute to and from work, rather than the even spread that a 24-hour supermarket would have caused.

Are Sainsbury's going to provide the new roads you said needed to be built in order for a supermarket to be built without "crushing the roads in the area"?

Finally, the old adage "be careful what you wish for" comes into play. Rather than have a "lower class" type of store, potentially there will be a more deli-centric establishment being built in its place.

The type of establishment that you can go to and buy all of your Fairtrade chapatti and crushed pimento essence at a lower price than you would find on a local shopping street. Berate have stuffed themselves.

No food store, no stadium, no World Cup. Sainsbury's gets approved? North Street is in peril. Looks like Berate may have not so much shot themselves in the foot, but launched a North Korean nuclear attack on their entire leg.