AH! So it comes as no surprise that Starbucks are potentially seizing the opportunity to infest another one of our towns alongside all the other multinationals that seek to rear their corporate heads in an effort to make ‘Any-town’ look like ‘Every-town’ and ‘Somewhere’ look like, well, ‘Everywhere Else’.

No wonder the independent coffee houses here are disappointed if not enraged having been let down by the town councils or the district councils, if that be the case, lost opportunity and flaccid approach in not turning down the proposed outlet and whom seem to condone the idea of having the towns character and ‘soul’ erased and then overwritten.

Why was Costa Coffee ever allowed through the net?

It won’t be long before Pret A Manger decide to seed themselves given the popularity of French and Danish TV thrillers now that the TV watching world has become more accustomed and less anxious about having to deal with subtitles.

However, nowadays I suppose many seem too hard wired to their smart phones to notice or worry as to where they are anyway.

At least empty shops can act as a blank canvas, a metaphorical breathing space an opportunity for creative endeavour, as seen by Cush, Totto, Fungusloci, The Weaving Shed, Clay Sinclair’s gallery space and Up etc, which enable an albeit temporary vibrancy and change brought about by ‘pop up’ culture, which is to be applauded in my opinion by blowing fresh breath into the town.

It’s time for Stroud people to resist this multinational malignancy, this insidious re-programming of our high streets here and elsewhere.

I would suggest that all the independents unite in objection to this and run any such proposal out of town so that we can have a future of knowing who and where we are and above all what Stroud stands for.

Peter Maynard

Stroud