CONTROVERSIAL plans for an 81 seat coffee shop in Bye Street have won the support of Ledbury Town Council, despite fears about the impact on local jobs and the narrowness of the pavement.

Similar fears have been voiced on social media, including The Voice of Ledbury site on Facebook; but opinion is divided in the community as to whether the arrival of the large Coffee#1 shop would be a good thing in market town that already has nine coffee shops.

The town council's planning committee, when it debated the change of use planning application last Thursday, revealed itself to be equally divided.

Four councillors voted against, four councillors voted for, and the casting vote, in favour, was cast by the committee chairman, Cllr Bob Barnes.

Cllr Barnes said: "From a planning point of view, the access and egress is a concern. If they want to go with a single access, then that doorway needs to be widened to allow suitable access for wheelchairs and pushchairs. An 81 seat restaurant would create a lot of business, I suppose. Mothers with pushchairs would not be able to leave them on the pavement."

The business, which would offer micro-waved snacks as well as coffee, would create six full time jobs and four part time jobs.

But town and county councillor, Cllr Andrew Warmington feared the impact of the new coffee shop on existing businesses.

He said: "This will have an impact on other local cafes. This is a change of use and a change to the town centre, and we do not have to bring in something that we have enough of already.

"This would create six full time jobs; but how many will it cost in established businesses? That is a legitimate objection."

But Cllr Jayne Roberts welcomed the proposed long opening hours for the Coffee#1 shop, from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday, and she said: "Competition is good."

Meanwhile, the coversion of Units 3 & 4 at Sear House, into a coffee shop is ongoing, because although Coffee#1 needs long-term change of use planning permission from retail to mixed use, under planning law it can operate as a "pop-up shop" for two years.

Cllr Tony Bradford said: "The work is completed inside, almost, and they are going to open."

The issue has also been widely debated on social media.

Posting on the Voice of Ledbury, local resident, Janet Meredith said: "In my opinion, the road outside and pavement need improving. The pavement is uneven and a nightmare for people in wheelchairs. Also, would probably necessitate people stepping into the road to get around people going in and out of Coffee#1, and the road there is riddled with potholes. That's another fall for someone."

But local resident, Martin Dudley believes precedences have already been set.

He said: "The pavement argument is a non starter. No one voiced complaints in public before now regarding its width or condition, when Clubsport was there or the stationery shop was open; there were no complaints about a similar business with the sandwich shop, and likewise none from the bookmakers.

"Coffee#1 will be a welcome addition to the town in my humble opinion and it is likely to be a coffee shop/cafe that will actually be open when other privately owned like businesses are not."

Other Ledbury residents described news of the application as "brilliant" and "good news".

Coffee#1, in its application to Herefordshire Council said: "The design and access principles adopted by the proposed development are in accordance with the adopted Herefordshire Local Plan and supplementary planning guidance."

The final decision lies with Herefordshire Council, with a determination date of Wednesday, May 3.