The evil empire has opened a coffee shop in St James St, Brighton on the site of a former bookshop/stationers, despite being refused planning permission by the local council. At 9am this morning though, Starbucks was almost deserted while the queue at the nearby Red Roaster stretched to the door ...
Anti-Starbucks protesters condemn store "arrogance" There are zillions of comments below the article, first few seem pretty antagonistic towards the protestors. I say Starbucks can screw themselves with a big stick. Besides, their coffee is crap anyway.
From Brighton & Hove City Council?! You're having a laugh... Most easily bought council in the country, Tory (because of the high proportion of Green voters- but that's a whole other can of worms) bastards who'll sell off any site to the highest bidder, regardless of cultural significance... Starbucks know they can operate with impunity here because the council love it... They've already put a Starbucks in the North Laine in the hideous Jubilee Street development and they've fucked that area over, St James' Street and driving out the allegedly 'seedy' (ie. gay) element is next once they've finished with New England Point and 'cleaning up' London Road (ie. building more chain shops and selling off land to the highest bidder for yuppie flats for Londoners).. Anyone who shops/eats/drinks in Jubilee Street or any of the new horrific developments doesn't deserve to call themselves a Brightonian and should be shot if they believe they love this town (you think I'm joking heh)... Keep that crap on Western Road, not in my area, the place where I'm born and bred which is turning into another identikit high street, we love Brighton because of its quirky individuality... The only reason I stay in the country is because I love this town but the council are determined to ruin it to make a quick buck wherever possible and the fuckwit immigrants (not foreign immigrants but idiot english, I hasten to add) love it because it makes it a bit more like 'home', all the same comforting logos and products. If you have any faith in B&H council objecting to corporate chains acting above the law then I might suggest you were on drugs.. Mark my words, they'll get away with it and Starbucks will be packed with morons every day while the indie coffeeshops in the area will suffer. Look at the N. Laine.
By the way, I would never dream of advocating writing 'SHIT CUNTS' in emulsion paint and/or permanent ink all over the windows or putting superglue in the locks of the new Starbucks. That would be extremely immature and essentially pointless. Please don't do it. Don't do it on the New England Point development or the new Sainsburys near there either. Honest.
My only problem with the protestors is that there's not a lot of point picketing the illegal St James St branch where no-one's going anyway, if you leave alone the flagship outlets on Western Rd and the one Rev mentions in the inhuman development around the new "library". I'd join the protest myself this Saturday except I'll be on the way to Strawberry Fair, where I'll happily picket the Starbucks tent if there is one. BTW we'll know the end is near when St James gets designated a "Quarter"...
I don't think I understand this. If they were refused permission how can they just open up ? Who do othey think they are McDonalds ? Peace
Probably bought the lease so will refurbish and open, I don't really understand what planning has to do with selling cups of coffee myself, hardly a controlled substance is it.
You need planning permission for any substantial change of use. That used to be a bookshop, I can't recall a single cup of coffee being sold at that site in the 10 years I've lived in the locality.
substantial no I'd say not really, who actualy gives two hoots what is being sold on any particular shop site, hardly anybody I'd suggest, I think it just smacks of anti-americanism which is a particular form of xenophobia
well that's the law, if you don't like it then do something about it. The council refused a restaurant extension on the same street a few years ago when there was no suggestion of anti-americanism. Actually it was the Cafe de Paris, so I suppose you'll say it was anti-Frenchism.
I say it's more anti-chains. Yes, most chains tend to be American these days if you follow them back far enough!
I'm not fussed shant be anywhere near Brighton in the near future anyway. Did the restaurant have students wanting to daub paint over it or glue the locks though?
Cafe de Paris is not an emblem of greedy and unethical global capitalism and corporate imperialism in the way Starbucks is... There is a large movement to protest the takeover of our highstreets by conglomerate chains like McDonalds, Starbucks etc at the expense of local businesses. Yes most of these chains are American owned but to call the movement "anti-American" is to miss the wider picture. The protest is not because they are American but because they represent a particular form of business practice with which many disagree, which happens to have its strongest powerbase in the USA. Yes the controversy over a breach of local council protocol is an excuse to mount a protest, but the protest against these sorts of corporations goes much deeper than that, and what's wrong with that?
no problem with "deeper protests against corporations", but a problem with petty vandalism ? probably
