Tesco wants to open an 18th store in Bristol. But is it needed? And is it possible to get round all the stores in an hour? At noon precisely, a pot of organic yoghurt is scanned – and with a beep rather than a fanfare my mission to discover how many of Bristol’s Tesco stores I can visit in an hour begins. The task was prompted by what one local paper dubbed the “Battle of Stokes Croft” : on Tuesday, riot police removed squatters occupying a site destined to become Bristol’s 18th Tesco. Protesters claim yet another one would drive independent shops out of business. The supermarket giant insists there is a demand and argues that 18 Tescos for a city of more than 400,000 people is not excessive. My journey begins a mile or so from Stokes Croft, at Bishopton’s Tesco Express. It’s a lively place with bohemian book and clothes shops, and the supermarket’s logo is jarring. Office worker Judy, who nipped out to buy a sandwich, admits she feels ashamed to shop there. “But it’s quicker to pop in here than wait for a sandwich to be made at one of the nicer shops. I come in almost every day.” My next stop is the Tesco Express on Marlborough Street, opposite the bus station at the edge of the city centre, where Jim is grabbing a bottle of water

Original Source Bristol’s Tesco challenge: can you shop in all 17 stores in one hour?