A decision to allow a Costa Coffee outlet in Totnes in Devon against massive local opposition says a lot about how hollow the aspirations of the government’s localism agenda have proven to be.
South Hams District Council yesterday granted approval for the first chain coffee shop in Totnes, a town that prides itself on its independent retail offer. No less than 5,500 signatures were received in a petition against the opening while 260 letters of objection were received by the council objecting to the application (there were 9 letters of support).
In many ways this is an age old story. A local community unites to object to a proposal and the council finds itself with a difficult decision. But in this case, and I’m sure in many others across the country, the hype surrounding the Localism Act and the National Planning Policy Framework raised the unrealistic expectation that the new planning framework would actually allow the council to block the proposal according to the wishes of local people. This was never going to be the case.
As the unfortunate case officer Ed Brown stresses in his report: “Many of the objections relate to the fact that Costa Coffee is the applicant. Such an objection is not a material planning consideration. Planning permissions run with the land and therefore it is the use of a site which is a material consideration rather than the individual business.”
In his conclusion he added: “The premises are currently empty and make no contribution to the viability of the Central Shopping Area. The premises have been vacant since February 2010. With the introduction of a mixed A1/A3 use the vitality and viability of the Central Shopping Area will not be undermined. There would not be a resulting oversupply of A3 uses. It is beneficial for the Central Shopping Area to have an empty unit put to a further use rather than remain empty.
“It is important to remember that the operator of the coffee shop is not a material consideration in the determination of the application. For the above reasons this application is recommended for approval.”
In a statement following the approval, campaign group No To Costa quoted a statement made by Prime Minister David Cameron on the vitality of town centres:
“’For our high streets to thrive they must offer something new and different. But for this to happen it is local people who must take control, developing the vision for the future of their high streets and putting their energy and enthusiasm into making it a reality’. Today, David Cameron’s words mean nothing.”
Once again, localism’s hype fails to match reality.