{"id":22149,"date":"2025-07-25T06:43:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T06:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/22149\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T06:43:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T06:43:07","slug":"the-beautiful-little-uk-town-so-supportive-of-independent-shops-costa-was-driven-out-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/22149\/","title":{"rendered":"The beautiful little UK town so supportive of independent shops Costa was driven out | UK | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

With corporate giants dominating towns all over the UK, it\u2019s almost impossible to drive through a town centre without spotting a Starbucks<\/a> or McDonald\u2019s. But in one small town just outside of Stirling, Scotland, a Costa Coffee branch went out of business – so much is the support for the dozens of incredible independent shops<\/a> on its high street.<\/p>\n

As well as reportedly causing a privacy issue for one local family due to Costa customers being able to see into their home, the news of the coffee shop\u2019s opening in 2019 caused general chaos in Bridge of Allan<\/a>. A local newspaper’s advertisement received backlash from the local community as Facebook users took to the paid promotion post to express their preference of local businesses over Henderson Street\u2019s new Costa.<\/p>\n

The Daily Express spoke to the town\u2019s independent businesses to get a sense of how locals feel about Costa\u2019s closure – as well as the general vibe in the area, which is just minutes from the University of Stirling campus.<\/p>\n

Zahid Hussain, manager of local shop \u2018Allanwater Papers\u2019, commented on the town\u2019s attitudes towards bigger businesses coming in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t feel connected [to them]\u201d, the newsagent manager explained. \u201cPeople here prefer to feel connected and prefer when shops are more exclusive.”<\/p>\n

Zahid said a Tesco Express was also shut down in Bridge of Allan and he predicts it closed for similar reasons. Nevertheless, the manager acknowledged independent shops\u2019 struggles. He said: \u201cAt the same time, it\u2019s sadly restrictive with the charges independent businesses face.\u201d<\/p>\n

But now the Costa building is unoccupied which Zahid felt is not so great either. He added: \u201cIf anything, it\u2019s not the best thing to look at \u2013 it\u2019s just an empty store.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Gillen, owner of Bridge of Allan\u2019s \u2018Uncommon Life\u2019 shop, shared similar views about Bridge of Allan\u2019s attitudes towards big corporations. He said: \u201cThere\u2019s a place for chain stores like that, but I don\u2019t think local community were keen on it. Generally, local people like to support a local business. They like the idea that it\u2019s locally owned and, usually, family-run. They build a relationship with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Allanwater Caf\u00e9 is an example of a family-run caf\u00e9 and chip shop, situated across the street from where the Costa used to be.<\/p>\n

Adrian Bechelli, manager at the establishment, remembers the locals\u2019 reactions to the news of the new Costa.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody was horrified\u201d, he explained.<\/p>\n

But he admits he didn\u2019t quite feel the same, and also noted the benefits that Costa brought to his family\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf people come in for Costa, they might get fish and chips from me. Strong businesses bring people in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that there were other issues around the Costa such as lack of parking,\u00a0explaining that Costa were \u201cin the wrong spot\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Adrian felt that it was still important to acknowledge the positives that it brought to Bridge of Allan.<\/p>\n

House prices in the pretty little town average nearly \u00a3400k, which is much more expensive than nearby Stirling, making it one of the most desirable places to live in the central Scotland region. There are direct trains to Scotland’s two largest cities, making it the perfect commuter town with 54-minute journeys to Edinburgh and speedy 36-minute trains to Glasgow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With corporate giants dominating towns all over the UK, it\u2019s almost impossible to drive through a town centre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[14181,14178,14180,84,59,5374,2295,3498,14179,56,14177,3502,54,55],"class_list":["post-22149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-best-uk-towns-for-independent-shops","tag-bridge-of-allan","tag-bridge-of-allan-shops","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-independent-shops","tag-property","tag-property-section","tag-stirling-news","tag-uk","tag-uk-section","tag-uk-property-news","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}