Residents upset with design plans for coffee shop in Wallingford

Coffee#1, a British coffee house chain, is due to open in the old Lloyds Chemist premises in Market Place.

The company has applied to South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, to make alterations to the front of the store and inside to “allow the café unit to operate efficiently” and “complement the running of the business”.

Coffee#1 is due to open in the old Lloyds Pharmacy premise in Market Place

Plans include new sapele wood double doors set back into the store, new sapele wood bi-fold doors, a new soft wood stallriser under the windows and new aluminium panels.

The front of the store would also include “Coffee#1” signs, two on the fascia and a new hanging illuminated sign on a cast steel bracket.

However residents oppose the plans as the building falls within the town’s conservation area and doesn’t “fit” with the character of the town.

What the building used to look like before the pharmacy closed.

Theresa Jordan, of Thames Street, said: “The building is in a historic conservation area. Only natural materials should be used for signage and no illumination.

“The location is not in a city, we are a small market town with a significant history of which we take great pride. We do not need additional light pollution.”

Designs for the hanging sign.

Jane Randle, of South View, said: “This shopfront has a key position on the Market Place so that any alterations to its external appearance are important.

“This shopfront with its bi fold doors and recessed frontage is inappropriate and would detract from the conservation area character. The use of aluminium and stainless steel is also inappropriate and out of character with surrounding traditional shopfronts.”

The coffee shop is planning for bi-fold doors.

Sue Hendrie, of Church Lane, said: “Both halo illumination and strip lighting are alien to the town.

“Further, the proposal to introduce a row of bi-fold doors is in no way sympathetic or appropriate to the historic character of the buildings or the conservation area.

“The pavement here is only some two metres wide on to a busy road. Unlimited access and egress for some length immediately around the corner from Feathers Yard would cause a danger to pedestrians having to negotiate customers or trying to cross the road.”

In the planning, design and access statement, Boyer, on behalf of Coffee#1, said: “The proposed external works will not compromise the aesthetic of the property and will establish the operation and trade through the provision of a high-quality scheme which is sensitive to its surrounding context.”

The planning authority is due to make a decision by Thursday, May 19.