Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
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!
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Say YES to Costa Coffee in Pangbourne, if you want to!
Objection to the planned opening of Costa Coffee, Great George Street
Updates
July 23, 2014
The planning office remains silent while I continue to gather evidence on the strain this will put on our local traders. It is exhausting to fight a corporation that has more resources than our entire village combined but I am not walking away from this fight.
Reached 100 supporters
July 23, 2014
102 Comments
With so many other food & drink outlets in the village, costa is a huge disappointment when the village is calling out for interesting and individual retail outlets. Such a shame.
If a huge company like Costa Coffee moves to Pangbourne it will damage the local and independent cafes in the village. It is the duty of local councils and authorities to protect the livelihood of both its business and residents, therefore this planning application should be rejected.
It pains me to see empty shops; however, I’m not comfortable with a Costa in the village! The soul of the village is in the independent traders who already serve us well enough. Costa….stick to the cities and don’t bring your corporate empire here thanks!
It would be ludicrous to decrease business in our local coffee shops and to dilute the quaint atmosphere of our village by allowing a chain coffee establishment! This is exactly the opposite to what our friendly, traditional, family village is about so let's say NO!
One of the great things about Pangbourne is the local coffee shops and cafes. They have a welcoming, homely feeling to them; something you just don't experience with franchise coffee shops.
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
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!
Updates
July 23, 2014
The planning office remains silent while I continue to gather evidence on the strain this will put on our local traders. It is exhausting to fight a corporation that has more resources than our entire village combined but I am not walking away from this fight.
Reached 100 supporters
July 23, 2014
102 Comments
Also lack of parking. That's going to be an interesting one! Who will pay to park behind the shops (unless that becomes their parking... but I don't see people wanting to pay to get a coffee. They will dump their cars on the side of the road).
With so many other food & drink outlets in the village, costa is a huge disappointment when the village is calling out for interesting and individual retail outlets. Such a shame.
If a huge company like Costa Coffee moves to Pangbourne it will damage the local and independent cafes in the village. It is the duty of local councils and authorities to protect the livelihood of both its business and residents, therefore this planning application should be rejected.
It pains me to see empty shops; however, I’m not comfortable with a Costa in the village! The soul of the village is in the independent traders who already serve us well enough. Costa….stick to the cities and don’t bring your corporate empire here thanks!
It would be ludicrous to decrease business in our local coffee shops and to dilute the quaint atmosphere of our village by allowing a chain coffee establishment! This is exactly the opposite to what our friendly, traditional, family village is about so let's say NO!
One of the great things about Pangbourne is the local coffee shops and cafes. They have a welcoming, homely feeling to them; something you just don't experience with franchise coffee shops.
I support this petition.
No
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Also lack of parking. That's going to be an interesting one! Who will pay to park behind the shops (unless that becomes their parking... but I don't see people wanting to pay to get a coffee. They will dump their cars on the side of the road).