26th August 2015

BRIDPORT: Coffee shop targets Blockbuster site

by Jack Dixon

A LEADING coffee house chain could soon open its doors in Bridport, after it revealed plans to pounce on the former Blockbuster store on East Street.

Coffee#1, an award-winning chain with almost 50 stores across the south of England, is eyeing up the former film and video rental shop.

The premises have been vacant since December 2013 and the East Street site remains one of Bridport’s few empty shop fronts.

But it could be filled sooner rather than later if planning permission is approved for a major redesign.

The coffee house chain is proposing to overhaul the existing premises and create a bustling café with an outdoor seating area.

Coffee#1 envisages the shop as a community meeting point that will create new jobs and boost the local economy by pulling more people into the town centre.

The planned refurbishment will have a significant impact on the “vitality and viability” of East Street, while creating a “feeling of vibrancy” that will benefit Bridport’s other traders.

In its planning application, submitted recently to West Dorset District Council, the coffee chain’s agent highlighted a “unique opportunity” to regenerate a site which has laid vacant for more than 18 months.

“The long-term investment and job creation that will result from this proposal will provide sustainable economic growth by creating new jobs, attracting investment and drawing greater footfall into the town centre, in addition to returning an empty unit back to an economically viable use,” the application said.

“The proposed development represents a unique opportunity to regenerate the application site.

“It will provide longstanding improvements, not only in terms of urban form and public realm but also economic and social vitality.”

Coffee#1 opened its first store in Cardiff in 2001 and now has several dozen outlets across South Wales and the South West – including Weymouth, Yeovil and Taunton.

The company, which has been named the UK’s best coffee chain at the Café Society Awards for the last five years in a row, champions ethical methods of production and environmental responsibility, and claims to have a track record of supporting community events, sponsoring sports teams and hosting events for local groups.

Its application includes plans to redesign the shop, which stands between two Grade II-listed buildings, in a way that would “respect the visual and historic features of the surrounding heritage assets”.

Chris Denne, from the Soulshine Café in South Street, said he was happy to welcome any new businesses that would help to boost trade in the town.

He said: “Lisa [Loader, wife and business partner] and I like to support independent ventures rather than bigger chains like Coffee#1. But any new business opening where a property is unused has got to be good for the town.

“We support any venture that makes Bridport an attractive destination – the more visitors we get the better for everyone.

“It’s just a bit of a shame the new business in the old Blockbuster site couldn't have been an independent, unique business.”

District council planners will have the final say on whether or not to approve the company’s application.