English: Future Tesco's, Orpington. This site used to be a multistorey carpark. It is being replaced by yet another Tesco's, with some residential development and public parking thrown in to satisfy the planners.

As with most such developments, there have been mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it is claimed that being a town centre site (the buildings on the right are the back of the High Street) it will attract more people to the area; the counterclaim is that people will use the new store for all their needs, leading to the death of the rest of the town. To some extent, the town centre is already under pressure, with Marks and Spencer and Currys both having moved out to replacement sites on the bypass a couple of miles away (easy for those with cars but less convenient for the large number of people who come to Orpington by bus, or who work in the town centre). (See 720213 for the new Marks and Spencer). At least Sainsbury's is keeping faith in the town centre, by moving from its current rather cramped site into the larger site vacated by Marks and Spencer.

The other concern is traffic - Station Road is already very congested, particularly in rush hour, and the extra traffic that a large Tesco's will inevitably attract will only make matters worse. In the meantime, the loss of a large amount of parking, even if it will be partially replaced when the development is complete, has had a detrimental impact on the occupancy of the large office block behind, with significant areas available to let.