The Bristol battle of the independent trader continues as Costa Coffee prepares to move into Redland

It looks like Starbucks may have a new rival for the unspoken title of the most common coffee shop on the high street as Costa Coffee prepares to move into Redland, Bristol

The Costa Coffee chain is currently planning to open two new branches in Redland - one on Gloucester Road and one on Whiteladies Road and many residents aren't best pleased.

The move is the latest saga in the Bristol battle of the independent traders versus the big chains and protests are already underway. The Prince of Wales pub on Gloucester Road has a sign up on it's chalkboard expressing it's opposition to the plans for the new Costa Coffee in the old Taurus Recruitment building.

Stuart Montgomery, who runs Costa Coffee franchises elsewhere in Bristol and who put in the application for a change of use for the employment agency premises, says the coffee shop would not only be an asset to the area but would create up to 10 jobs for local people. He says the protests are led by local coffee shops who are worried about the competition.

But Steve Townsend, a committee member of Gloucester Road Traders' Association, told the Bristol Evening Post: "Our prime interest is promoting independent trade on the Gloucester Road so we do not support planning applications from chains. Our customers are passionate about independent trade in the Gloucester Road, otherwise it would end up looking like any other High Street in the country."

The news comes as Clifton People revealed that Costa Coffee also plans to take over the recently-closed Fred Derbyshire newsagent on Whiteladies Road has been met with harsh criticism.

People say it will impact upon independent traders, arguing that the larger chains can afford to charge less - which will inevitably attract customers away from the smaller coffee shops. There was similar opposition, when Sainsbury's wanted to move into the old Woolworths/Woolies Indoor Market/Clifton Bazaar store on Whiteladies Road.

But what do you think? Is it all a storm in a tea cup? Should we embrace competition and the promise of more jobs? Or should we stand firm and look after the smaller traders in the face of this big chain companies? Surely, there's enough business to go round? And we're all pretty ethical here in Redland - we can make informed decisions about where to go for a cup of coffee...

Photo by Ashley Palmero via Flickr