Red tape ‘hitting Shrewsbury cafe culture plans’
Wednesday 21st July 2010, 3:00PM BST.
BUSINESSES IN Shrewsbury are being put off from introducing a cafe culture by council red-tape, it was claimed today.
Shropshire Council has vowed to wipe out bureaucracy in a move to help to make it easier for cafes and restaurants to put tables and chairs outside their premises.
Today a councillor claimed people were being out off from introducing Mediterranean-style outdoor seating.
And businessman Ashley Davies, who has faced problems getting through the red tape, has urged people not to be put off by his experiences.
Mr Davies, who runs Ashley’s Wine Bar, in Shoplatch, said he wanted people to come from all over the country to the county town.
He said: “After midnight where can people go in the town? If we can offer people night life we will bring them back.
“A lot of people don’t seem to want anything new in Shrewsbury but that is slowly killing the town.”
Mr Davies said he had faced a battle with Shirehall to secure outside seating for his wine bar.
He said highways and licensing officers had been helpful in giving him advice about applying for planning permission but the application had been delayed by months following a complaint by a member of the public about alcohol being served which led to him receiving a letter from an enforcement officer who was unaware of the plans.
Mr Davies said the matter had now been resolved and council officers had apologised but the delay had caused him a lot of worry.
Dr Maxwell Winchester, a Shropshire councillor, said he hoped other businesses would not be deterred from applying to have outside seating as Mr Davies had been a case study for other cafes in the town.
He said: “Ashley was the guinea pig for cafe culture. I’d been told people had been put off from trying to get outside seating before but most constituents want it and I’ve talked to officers to make sure they understand we need to improve the process.”
Councillor Winchester said he would also like to see late-night shopping on Thursdays and Fridays and free parking after 3pm.
Mr Davies added: “We should be encouraging people to try new things not piling on more red tape.”
By Emma Kasprzak
UK News
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Oh heck! not this old chestnut….
I will watch with interest all the comments, and there will be many, from both camps.
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Great idea the cafe culture , however I fail to see the pleasure sat at your table as a smelly bus pulls up at the bus stop in front of you. BAN THE BUSES FROM THE TOWN CENTRE.
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How would you feel if the buses were electric hybrid buses like the 26 Stagecoach buses launched in Oxford last week, Andrew?
These emit 30% less carbon, less NOx and are presumably less smelly.
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The way ahead I think
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Its the cars that are the problem, its not like you can get out of a car and go do your shopping although you can just hop off a bus.
Also, if the cars ( except taxis and blue badge holders ) were banned from town centre, the buses would have a clear run through..
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Do you think subsidised electric hybrid buses might encourage people out of their cars, clear the air and enhance the café culture, spencer?
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Huw, sounds like that would be the way forward here.
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That depends on how the electricity is made Huw, if its made from burning coal transported from eastern european mines then i would consider that to be less environmentally friendly than diesel.
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So, for this reason, would you be opposed to the electrification of transport in Shrewsbury, then, spencer?
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Why do certain people have to hijack every story and turn it into an ecological debate?
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Sorry. All I was doing was agreeing with Andrew Finch that clean air is essential if we want a café culture in Shrewsbury and showing that other towns get their cleaner air not by banning buses (as Andrew and Lou #6 want) but by introducing cleaner buses like Oxford did last week. Isn’t it important for vibrant, forward-looking places to try new things to enhance the quality of people’s lives?
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“A lot of people don’t seem to want anything new in Shrewsbury, but that is slowly killing the town.”
How right you are! We have a beautiful town, but it’s not exactly full of life, especially in the evening time. The streets are dead, except for those going from pub to pub. Lets have people sitting out on the streets, drinking and eating, a bit of street theatre or buskers on pride hill entertaining people.
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And whilst we are on the subject, we are lacking adult entertainment in this town. After a few beers Theres nothing better than to go to a lap dancing club. Lets face it, its what most men want when they are out, cut all the messing around, chat up lines, and buying drinks, get straight to the point.
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In respect to this “cafe culture”, a new french bistro is being proposed for the town centre on a prime spot (Mardol Head) where the old shoe shop has laid vacant for many years!!!
You can look at the application here and please write in with your support to: planningdmc@shropshire.gov.uk
http://planning2.shropshire.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?keyval=L2KGBVTD08300&searchtype=PROPERTY&module=P3
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please don’t let this resort to a slanging match!
We are living in difficult economic times, it’s vital that we make our town centre as vibrant as possible, a few tables and chairs isn’t going to hurt anyone, keeping in mind the disabled and blind users of our town, outside tables are great for wheelchair users by the way. Of course the owners of the premises must keep outside areas clear of rubbish, which most would anyway as an untidy cafe wont attract much business, this idea is far from new it’s used all over the world. We have a beautiful town, lets show it off and reap the rewards for our local economy.
I wish we could get rid of the buses, i’d love to see trams circling the town centre but that’s just a dream
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“After midnight where can people go in the town?”
How about home? I never knew this so-called “cafe culture” was intended for the middle of the night!
Surely those clamouring for all-night “cafe culture” in Shrewsbury can see that for those living in the town centre having people outside on the streets well into the night is going to be a major disturbance?
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Boring! Same old foody mafia trying to draw attention to themselves. Is the Star a shareholder in Ashley’s? it seems to mention it and put a photo in at every opportunity!
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Watch out for the caffeine and aspartame tax. Then will come the ambulance chasers with £1,000 for you, and £1,000,000 for themselves.
hahaha and I am not kidding!
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I was thinking of opening an open air, drive-in lap dancing coffee shop on ice. Hope nobody minds.
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Why not launch it by holding a concert in the Quarry?
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David Jones, are you kidding? You really expect people to go home at 12 because the few that live in the very centre of the town want sleep? They wouldn’t live there if they wanted peace and quiet, doesn’t happen in any other town or city, so why should shrewsbury close early?
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12midnight is not early. And Shrewsbury is hardly Birmingham or a big city. And has lots of residents (shock, horror) living in its centre, something that is actually a good thing for a town to have. And anyway my comment was really aimed at this notion of supposed “cafe culture” on Shoplatch.. after 12 midnight?! Bit of a nonsense.
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Who goes to these cafes after midnight? Don’t these people have to go to work the day`after?
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I live in the town and I would welcome pretty outside terracces in the square.Coffee culture is part of our lives and as the square is presently full of young kids and goths hanging around, or the bric a brac eye-sore stands raising money for the local cats home.I would have thought it was completely a no-brainer to utilise this space. We do not need it open till midnight however until 7pm would be nice!
On the other hand why on earth have’nt we a pretty pavillion with terrace in the quarry for families to enjoy – Absolutely useless planning with no enthusiasm or inivative ideas!
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and exactly what is wrong with ‘young kids and goths hanging around’? It’s their town too!!
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[and exactly what is wrong with ‘young kids and goths hanging around’? It’s their town too !!]
Quite right Ang.
That’s the problem, everybody has got a different view on what the town needs but at least people are taking more of an interest.
Some want to sit in quiet reflection ;), eat their lunch, have a rest or eye up the local talent but not on lumps of red rock! A condition to put something more user friendly at this site would be more than welcome!
I commented on the recent scandalous refusal of the temporary cafe unit in the Square that was proposed. It made front page news of the Shrewsbury Chronicle as being some sort of fault of the planners of our town!
It was the COUNCILLORS that turned it down, in support of the STCRA.
You know, those councillors who awarded themselves a massive rise in their allowances when Shrophire Council started, April 2009.
The planning officers supported that proposal so please Star and Chronicle report things as they really are especially if it makes the front page. :(
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I completely agree, journalists should be clear when reporting as to who is refusing and approving such applications. It was not the Planning Officers who refused the recent application for seating in the Square, but the elected Council Members. We elected them, and at election time we should remember what they have – or haven’t done – for our town.
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its not red tape to turn down planning for a cheap skate catering van in the Square under the ancient listed market hall
i support cafes in the Square but they must be to the highest architectural standard even the chairs and tables need to look immaculate not plastic chairs and a burger van!
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The historic planners do not agree with you Aaron partly due to this being a temporary addition to the Square for the summer season and mainly because the unit would be attractive, modern and practical.
It would be hilarious to see a mobile catering unit clad in reconstituted stone with pillars. Would it blend in with the Old Market Hall and look an asset to the town?
The brightly coloured unit favoured by the conservation department would stand out positively and cheerfully,complimenting, if not hidden by the monster flower daleks! It would not detract from the historic buildings because it would not demean them by trying to be something it is not.
It could also give the message that people under 70 exist in Shrewsbury, though it can be hard to believe sometimes.
BTW Stone Age man may have found a large rock to sit on satisfactory (such as in the Mardol)but people today expect and prefer a decent seat. The sooner those lumps of rock are removed the better.
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Oh my goodness im so glad others share our view – its about time the council ask for opions of the Shrewsbury residents (a real cross section of the community not just the select few). My husband and I are in our late 20′s/early 30′s and love living in Shrewsbury however, we often comment how it’s missing something. That so much more could be made of the town centre. Cafe culture to us means more outside space, that’s cosmopolitan and tasteful not a beer garden full of larger louts (we already have those places). It’s somewhere to enjoy a drink whether that is a glass of wine or a coffee. It means a bit of life in the town centre beyond 5pm when everything seems to shut down (most of us work till beyond this time every day). It means making more of this beautiful town centre. For the record, we love new places like Ashley’s and Morgan’s for injecting some life into the town. Apart from them and Mad Jacks there aren’t many places you can sit outside on a summers evening. If we are having a rant about the town centre isn’t it about time something was done with the old buildings that are an eyesore for example the old office block at the top of pride hill or the offices by the market hall. They ruin the rest of the beautiful architecture. Can’t they be cleaned up a bit – brought up to date? Rant over! Thank you!
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