Chippenham café counts cost of chains
10:00am Thursday 21st February 2013 in Latest News
Rob Perks with his daughter Amy Street outside the Dutch Cottage
The boss of a county-wide traders’ organisation is set to close part of his own business because of falling trade and high car park prices.
Rob Perks, chief executive of the Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce, wants to close his café, the Dutch Cottage tea room in Chippenham, to make way for a children’s nursery.
Mr Perks, who is also president of Chippenham Cham-ber of Commerce, said the business is struggling because of a surplus of coffee shops in the town and high prices for parking. But all the nurseries have long waiting lists as women want to get back to work, he said.
He has applied for planning permission to change the use of the building in St Mary Street, which opened as a tea room in 2006. If it is granted, the new nursery would generate nine jobs.
Mr Perks said: “Coffee shops, along with the rest of Chippenham in general, are struggling. The town is suffering from too many coffee shops and having to pay for parking.
“Big chains see it as a big town, but it can’t support them because all the people living on the perimeters aren’t coming into the centre, they’re going off to work in Swindon and elsewhere.
“But there is a big need for nurseries, the others in the town have long waiting lists.
“Lots of women are looking to go back to work.”
Mr Perks said his daughter Amy Street, 27, would be co-manager of the business.
Ms Street, of Charter Road, has Early Years Professional status, equivalent to qualified teacher status for under- fives. She worked in a nursery in Colerne for two years before leaving to have her son Austin, who is now seven months old.
She said: “I enjoy the flexibility of early years, being able to go with the children’s interests rather than being tied too much to a curriculum. We’d take a maximum of 20 children, so it would be very personal.”
She would manage the nur-sery along with 26-year-old Hannah Gayles, of Colerne.
It plans to offer assisted places for those on low incomes who can get financial help from Wiltshire Council.
Wiltshire Council aims to make a decision by March 26 and if it is approved, the business could open in early May.
Chippenham Town Coun-cil raised no objection to the plans. The deadline for comments to Wiltshire Council is March 14.
Comments(6)
We love the Gerald
says...
6:34pm Fri 22 Feb 13
I share M Smith's doubts about the building's suitability for its new use and hope that the application for change fails, so that the cafe remains open. They've tried very hard to make it work and employ very professional and amenable staff.
Oh, and I think that a nursery would provide more employment than does the cafe.
chips-in-ham
says...
10:14pm Fri 22 Feb 13
notscot
says...
8:34am Sat 23 Feb 13
"We’d take a maximum of 20 children, so it would be very personal.”
It equates to: We will be very expensive.
So it will be used by families who are already comfortably off - it will get the wives of about a dozen hi-earning males back into work.
No problem with that, other than the log-jam of Chelsea tractors driven by women who will park as they see fit (as per their counterparts in other schools nationwide) and won't give a fig for the problems they cause.
I love the way in which he alludes to philanthropy - allowing "mothers to return to work" - clever touch - who could doubt his intent?!!
Must be nice to be able to support your family in such a way though - cutting through the red tape on their behalf. Great perk.
(Or should that have been president perk?)
Roy-Orbit of Chippenham
says...
2:22pm Sat 23 Feb 13
amberl99
says...
12:34pm Sun 17 Mar 13
m.smith2013 says...
2:43pm Fri 22 Feb 13
Funny how the Council have no objection to the plans when the business owner is president of Chippenham Chamber of Commerce! I could write more on this but I would not like my comment to be deleted!
To put a nursery in a really unsuitable building in an unsuitable area is a complete joke! What parent in their right mind would send their child to an old falling apart tatty building where there is no parking or turn around/drop off space?
The garden/outside area is totally unsuitable for a garden space/play area. We went to use the disabled toilet outside the cafe last week to find RATS in the garden. What will be done about this I suppose with the River Avon being at the bottom of the garden area?
I don't normally wish businesses to fail especially in this current economic climate but I sincerely hope this one does. Why not sell the building for someone to make into a quaint little home? No, cos they wouldn't make enough money on that I guess. Losers.