From the www.notocosta.co.uk website today:
We are absolutely delighted to hear from Costa Coffee’s Managing Director, Chris Rogers, of their decision to withdraw from Totnes. We are impressed Costa has taken the time to understand our town, its economy and the 5,700 people who signed the petition asking Costa to reconsider.
This is a major milestone for local communities and is a day when the value of localism comes into its own, albeit belatedly… Unfortunately, we’re now left with a situation where planning has been granted for change of use. We’d encourage South Hams District Council to learn the lesson that Costa Coffee has had to correct. If localism means local communities have the right to decide what happens in their towns, its time for planners to understand this as well.
We’d like to thank Sarah Wollaston, MP, Mayor Pruw Boswell, the Town Council and the District Councillors (Robert Vint, Mike Hannaford, Jacqi Hodgsone and Judy Westacott) and the two District Councillors members (Julian Brazil and John Squire) from outside Totnes who voted with us. We’d also like to thank the people of Totnes and the surrounding communities for their time, dedication and energy. It’s their enthusiasm that has enabled this campaign to succeed.
Finally, as Mary Portas says today, this could all have been avoided. We’re aware that the premises remain empty and will be seeking a meeting with South Hams District Council to discuss how we move forward.
For more information from the Transition Culture website see here...
Transition Town Totnes 