Martin McGowan-Scanlon, of Bay View Estate, Stoke Fleming, writes:

While I am no fan of Costa, it strikes me that there is a far simpler and much more productive solution for the town.

Encourage the investment and job creation – goodness knows we need them, given the housing plans currently in place. But continue to drink coffee locally with existing suppliers. Encourage those who don’t, to go once a week to a local supplier.

I wonder how often all the people who have signed the petition drink coffee in the shops they claim to want to save. Keeping someone in business by supporting their shop and product is far more helpful than keeping competition out.

As I write, 787 have signed the petition. If they all drank one, or one more, coffee a week locally, this would provide something in the region of £123,000 per annum to these shops – 787 x 3 x 52, or £6,000 each per annum, if indeed there are 20 coffee outlets as stated in a letter last week.

The council and ‘charity’ claiming a requirement to charge market rent would do well to take a view on all this. It is because of their intransigence that mainly chains are taking on shops in the town..

Just a thought (or three).