Plans for another town centre coffee shop

Please, please not another one? Walking around Alderley, Bramhall and Cheadle it is noticeable how those centres have retained their butchers, green grocers etc. Why is Wilmslow so different?

I have to agree with Laurie Atterbury, where have our butchers & green grocers gone, supermarket meat & veg is not the same as locally sourced produce. We have become a generic town that has no individuality anymore. The rents & rates are so high that the good old fashioned shops cannot afford them, wake up & lets go back to the old ways of good local shops with quality local produce.

Simple Laurie. Exhorbitant rent, rates etc. for the greedy. The huge markup on coffee and cakes and cheap wages paid to kids to serve it - they couldn't work in a butchers and wouldn't work in a greengrocers!!!

Laurie, I partially agree with Simon: exhorbitant rents and rates in Wilmslow. Work out how many carrots you have to sell to cover costs and make a living. But that is the whole theory of capitalism - the simple laws of supply and demand. A lot of us moan about the number of coffee shops and nail/eye liner bars in town - but they are there because they can make money; if they didn't they would close down. I don't think it is about exploiting young people - there are minimum wages and plenty of choice of shops to work in. And I don't think you can blame private landlords; why wouldn't you rent out your (commercial) property at the optimal rate?
It is more a sad reflection on our environment that we are able to support about 174 coffee shops and 645 nail bars and 0 butchers or green grocers in the town centre. If people didn't use these places, they wouldn't be there - and to be fair some of the coffee shops are reasonably good - though I suggest we don't have a great one in town.
My simple suggestion - and maybe one for the Wilmslow business group to consider - develop the shopping area on Chapel Lane more intelligently: there already is a decent butcher, who I am sure would be even better in response to a bit more trade, a decent fishmonger (ditto)... okay a total lack of vegetables, fruit or a deli but if that could be addressed you suddenly have a bit of a critical mass of decent local shops. I assume the rent is less prohibitive there too.

Don't kid yourselves that Rent and Rates are the reasons we have lost these retailers. I work with all types of retailers in towns where the costs are very low in comparison to Wilmslow, and still the "traditional" ones dont survive, mainly because the public do not want it, that simple. Nipping into an "express" store during the week and doing a weekly shop in a larger supermarket is how food retail is these days, the new breed of retailers such as coffee shops and nail bars all have a demand. Pop your head into any of the coffee shops in the town of an afternoon and try and get a seat, there will be very few to be had. Those traditional retailers in other towns that are thriving do so mainly on loyalty and finding a niche. As a nation we are led by convenience first then price. Good luck to Lawrence, its great to have an empty unit filled again, a few more jobs and, for those not wanting to spend money with a corporate brand, another independent alternative.

Will this new business trigger a much needed improvement to that retail block ..... it looks so scruffy and spoils the town centre! In fact pulling it down and building a new mall with apartments above could be a very good idea!