Topic: shopping in westbury

[Debs]

5th cafe/coffee shop     can westbury support another cafe???   is there enough business and people to keep it going???    i suppose being up by the indian restaurant  you are taking away the ones who will just sit outside all day smoking as they probably wont be bothered to walk up that hill ( haynes road can be a complete no no for some people to get up unaided.)  and they wont wont to pay parking charges in warminster road car park. there is also the milkshake bar/cafe thats appeared on warminster road/haynes road roundabout.....    aimed more for the kids i would imagine...
 
 im trying not to be negative about this as its good to see another empty units being used again BUT it would be nice to give people a reason to come to westbury to shop.and not just for cafes, estate agents and second hand shops.   Apart from when derrylee boutique and Genevieve  was open in warminster road and the marklet place years ago i like a lot of others of my age (40's) have had to shop out of town for clothes for myself as westbury hasnt catered for teens, young adults  .. if youre on the elderly side the ribbons is the place for you if you can afford it of course. and get there as again if you have trouble walking its hard to get to and no parking to hand. yes i know there is car parks on bratton road and warminster road but do you know how many people would still find that short walk impossible to do AND shop    and men,,, its ok if youre again into cargigans , barbour anad the whole shooting farming working scene...but what if you want something a bit more in tune with fashion..again go elsewhere....children arent catered for at all..not since the toy shop/baby/toddler shop closed down years ago again. nothing has replaced it. making all the mothers either going out of town or use catalogues to get the clothes they need for their babys and children.  i was one of those people having to go out of town to get things for my 4 kids all the time they were growing up.. same as a lot of my friends.    if you want to e ncourage people to shop here (and the parking charges arent going to do that to start with) then you will have to provide westbury with a different range of shops.  you only have to look at the business that B & M and home bargains and matalan has made in the business park in trowbridge.  i used to go by 6 times a day with my job and see the changes in how many cars are now there shopping and spending their money. iknow westbury cant have those kind of large retail shops but you can see what a difference it has made to just that area.  yesterday it was packed as kfc was opened too.        we need different shops.. yes davis's is a mine field of goodies, but your usual everyday bits and pieces that you need can be a bit on the expensive side..okay for presents .... competition is good for everyone i reckon, keeps the prices down a bit but come on 5 cafes... 5 estate agents , 7 secondhand/charity shops is getting a bit much wouldnt you say

[charlie finbow]

I agree with most of what you say Debs.   No one wants to see a boarded up unit with graffiti over it and it makes you wonder, if a business park can command successful retailers, why cant we, is it a parking issue after all.

As for the street furniture allowing smokers to sit there I'm not sure if the Cafe or others should have planning permission for this, I remember Charlies in the market place applied for it to allow tables and chairs outside their premises.

Perhaps Russell, who has far more experience in planning, would be able to answer especially as its a pedestrian walkway.

[charlie finbow]

I have a gut feeling about this and I may be wrong.

   I suspect the owners don't know if they need planning permission and have just gone with it for the sake of their customers.

Problem as I see it, and as I have said I may be wrong, if they didn't have the chairs for smokers would that destroy their business, I don't know.   Its obviously a tricky one and I would welcome Russells comments on this.

[baldy]

Which new coffee shop are you talking about?

[Shizzy]

The cafe being referred to is the White Horse Cafe in the High Street.

[baldy]

I don't understand what is new about it.
 
It has been a cafe for several decades without any change except name, ownership, management and decor.
 
There is no right to put tables and chairs onto the pavement. This needs a licence from Wiltshire Council to permit trading on the pavement. I do not know whether a licence was granted.
 
Sometimes, cafes occupy private land between their building and a public footpath / pavement. That would be a different matter.
 
I am not sure if the pavement under the steel-reinforced concrete canopy by White Horse Cafe is private land or public land.

[charlie finbow]

Thanks for that Russell, I think you will find its a pedestrian zone and part of the Highway so I'm sure a licence/planning permission should be granted, possibly the cafe and indeed SK Fruits who put barrows outside are totally unaware of this.   Surely though if people are complaining then a member of the council should try to sort it out.   As I have said though, its a tricky one because we don't want local business to loose trade.   Im not quite sure if its your patch or MCMs.

[baldy]

MCM
 
 

[Debs]

the  "NEW"one  is the cafe/wine bar on warminster road in the old gun shop.. ....  i only mentioned it wondering if  westbury can  keep another cafe/wine bar going??    ive heard on the grapevine one of out local pubs could possibly be closing in the near future  (new year) mainly through lack of business so i heard..as well as the cake shop could be going to...another prime shop going to be closed again..allegedly

i also just mentioned through "conversation" in my post about the very smoky smell at the cafe in the high street where a few congregate to sit for hours just chugging away.  the 2 places arent connected only by the fact they are both cafes and like my original post, havent we got enough of them?    and!!! i also thought when the smoking ban came in the pubs people werent allowed to stand in doorways smoking but its "ok" for them to sit either side of the door so you have to walk through a thick smelly smog of smoke to get into a place selling food !!!! in the summer when the doors are open all the time then the smoke drifts into the cafe as it does in the cake shop opposite side of the road.....  its bad enough walking past on that side of the high street, i certainly wouldnt use that place for anything to eat.  i dont have a gripe with smokers as ive already stated, i grew up with parents who smoked and my partner also smokes, but there is a difference between someone having a fag and having to walk through a smelly haze of it... a lot of people dont like doing it, im one of them as you will have guessed.  and in the summer you then have to pick your way through prams, pushchairs, kids running around and lying on the floor screaming getting int he way of people trying to walk along the pathway keeping out of the way of motorcycles parked in the way, pushchairs and of course the cars using the roadway through. im only highlighting potential problems for the elderly and infirm trying to go about their daily routines and the potential problems that i can see.    at work im responsible for my own risk assessments and health and safety issues and learn to recognize issues that can occur...   im just putting some out there for others to see and maybe get some sensible posts going on sensible subjects as the forum like the others have been a bit quite lately..  nothing more nothing less...its as simple as that!!!!

like i said...to keep people shopping in westbury and regularly then you have to provide shops selling things they want or need to buy at competitive prices

[nickwbs]

well i refurbed the new coffee shop wine bar on warminster road and let me tell you it has planning permission and all relivent paperwork required to trade and the patch of land out side is not pedestrian it is part of the shop ! i thought it was about time westbury had a nice friendly relaxing place to sit and socialize ! there will be no tables and chairs outside at preasent so why not come in and let your eyes judge you will be pleasently surprised
i have been trading in westbury for 15 years and really enjoyed the town and most of the people in it so why cant we bring it a bit more up market and a pleasant place too live
 

[charlie finbow]

Well done and I mean that.  The reference to street furniture is in the High St and some people are complaining.   Im sure that there is a way to sort this but complaining on this forum should prompt a reply from our Town and Unitary Councillors who are members.   I wish you all the very best in your new venture.

[Shizzy]

Just to clarify Debs original post covered two topics.

1. The new Wine Bar / Cafe in Warminster Road

2. The smokers congregating around tables outside the Whitehorse Cafe in the High Street.

[Sector9]

What have you been trading as for the last 15 years Nick, if you don't mind me asking?

[nickwbs]

building and property development

[Sector9]

Well as long as you're not un-corking vintage wine with your power drill, hopefully you'll do well