Yesterday's news that Starbucks have won their appeal against the council's planning department is tragic. It shows that the multi-nationals have the might to send in their top legal guys and fight any local decision which goes against them. They should have respected local planning regulations in the first place and then the clearly expressed will of the elected council. What concerns me is that officers will be even more reluctant to fight these multi-nationals who already think they can do what they want, where they want.
St James's Street could easily become the city's best street (well second best after our own Western Road and Church Road stretch which is a truly superb shopping district, with much of it operated by independent traders). Starbucks doesn't add much there, and here in Brunswick it luckily remains an exception to the local traders and one which doesn't really fit in.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
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