Coffee shop poised to clear hurdle

A controversial attempt by a coffee chain to open an outlet in Skipton looks set to be approved even though two previous attempts have failed.

Costa Coffee has twice been refused permission by Craven District Council for a permanent change of use of an empty shop in Sheep Street in the town centre from retail to non-retail.

But the council’s planning panel will be advised to approve another application by the coffee chain – this time for temporary approval for a two-year period – when it meets on Monday.

The council’s decision on the first application was upheld by the Planning Inspectorate at appeal and there is an informal hearing scheduled for February 23 to consider an appeal against the second refusal.

A report to be considered by the planning panel says the applicant’s agents would consider withdrawing the appeal if the latest application were to be “considered favourably” but notes that this is not a “material consideration” in relation to the current application.

The previous two applications were refused by the council on the basis that they did not comply with policy.

However, the latest attempt by Costa Coffee includes new information on the split of retail to non-retail premises within the town centre core retail area which it has asked to be taken into consideration.

Information regarding marketing of the premises and the applicant’s commercial circumstances has also been provided and the number of tables and amount of seating has been reduced.

The ground floor of the three- storey building now features a bigger retail display area and a serving area towards the front.

The latest attempt to open a Costa Coffee outlet in the town has drawn opposition from a number of critics, including Skipton Civic Society, which says it objects to the introduction of a chain store cafe.

Other objections include claims that there are already a number of other “premium coffee shops” in the town and that the Costa outlet “would force existing independent, family-run outlets out of business.”

The new coffee shop would create six full-time and five part-time jobs but critics say it “would create unemployment when existing businesses are closed due to competition.”

However the report to be considered by the planning panel says: “The applicants have successfully demonstrated that the retail/non retail balance of the town centre would allow the proposed change of use within the parameters set out in the saved policy and the proposal is therefore acceptable in principle.”

Mark Moore, principal planning officer at Craven Council, said: “In this case, the council has a clear policy which restricts the change of use of ground floor premises from retail to non-retail in the Core Retail Area of Skipton town centre.

The purpose of the policy is to maintain the balance between retail and non-retail units, with the majority of town-centre uses being given over to retail and is an approach which is entirely consistent with national planning policy.”

He added: “Costa Coffee has applied twice for a change of use from retail to non-retail of the unit on Sheep Street.

It is worth noting that the policy only applies to ground floor uses and at no time therefore have the council objected to the use of either the first or second floor of the premises as a coffee shop.”

He said that each application must be determined on its own merits and in each case the council must assess whether an individual proposal is compliant with policy.