Costa Coffee has recently put in a planning application to occupy 8 Reading Road, Pangbourne, RG8 7LY. The full application can viewed online at westberks.gov.uk, reference 14/01669/FUL.

Please help local businesses and resident of Pangbourne to fight this unpopular addition to the high street by signing our petition!

Pangbourne, which has a population of under 3,000, already has three independent coffee shops (two directly opposite 8 Reading Road!), not to mention the numerous pubs and restaurants that serve casual diners, and the fourth coffee outlet at the train station. The village has suffered heavily over the years, with numerous business closures, inevitably followed by the growing number of retail units remaining empty. Not to mention the impact of the Whitchurch Bridge closure.

We are not a thriving commercial town, we are a small village. The arrival of Costa Coffee is not going to bring the village any more visitors, it is only going to take from the limited customer base that is already there. Inevitably this will be at the expense no doubt of another independent business, who does not have the financial backing of a large corporation. To them, it’s pennies. For us, it’s our livelihood. We have already seen one new food and drink outlet come and go in matter of months, as there simply is not enough customers to go about.

This will merely be another small step in taking down more independent traders, and leaving the landscape of Pangbourne a far cry what it used to be. Pangbourne needs businesses and services that complement what we have remaining, and that will help grow the number of visitors and tourists to the area organically, to benefit each other.

It also completely undermines the good work that volunteers from the Pangbourne and Whitchurch Sustainability Group have been doing since the end last year to encourage more local trade.

Please help us to ensure Pangbourne does not become another failed high street statistic, by saying NO to Costa Coffee!