A COSTA Coffee shop which will create up to 12 jobs in West Bridgford is expected to open in late spring.
The international coffee chain revealed it was progressing with its plans as it asked Rushcliffe Borough Council for permission to put up signs outside 48-50 Bridgford Road, known as Van Gaver House.
The chain already has planning permission for the café.
A spokesman for Costa Coffee said: "It is due to open in late spring. We don't have a definite date for opening at the moment but it's looking likely to be around May or June. We don't have the exact number of staff numbers at this stage but it will likely be between eight and 12 employees."
The news comes after more than 1,700 people applied for eight jobs at a new Costa café in Mapperley.
The chain, which runs more than 1,200 cafés in the UK, had advertised the jobs in early December.
More than 800 people applied for ten jobs at Costa Coffee in Long Eaton after the company took over the lease of a building in the town in August last year.
But an independent coffee shop and campaign group in West Bridgford has hit out at the plans.
Jo Bounds, joint owner of the Tiffin Tea Room, in Abbey Road, said: "I think this is a bad move for West Bridgford.
"We already have a lot of coffee shops and charity shops. A Costa will make Bridgford Road and Central Avenue less interesting to look at and walk down. "
Ms Bounds, a resident of Musters Road who has co-run the tea room for just over a year, said: "I don't think it will damage our business.
"We are a very specific tea shop and people come to us for the atmosphere as well as what we serve. We're nothing like a chain."
But she said that a Costa coming to West Bridgford reflected badly on the borough council.
"The rents on Bridgford Road and Central Avenue are extortionate. That's why Van Gaver House has stood empty for so long. It would be nice to think the council would lower rents for local independents one day."
Karina Wells, co-ordinator for Totally Locally West Bridgford, a campaign group that supports independent shops, said she did not think a Costa was necessary in West Bridgford and it would not bring anything to the town.
"We do not need another coffee shop. I agree with all the independents on that. We already have a Cafe Nero for people who want that sort of coffee shop.
"I don't think it will benefit West Bridgford at all. I'm not against big chains per se – I know they are good for dilapidated town centres, but that is not the case in West Bridgford. I think a boutique-style independent B&B would be a better use for the building."
