PLANS to open a new Starbucks near Nottingham railway station are being opposed in the area.
Nottingham City Council reported that the Bentinck Hotel, at the corner of Station Street and Carrington Street, is to be turned into a coffee shop.
It has already granted planning permission for internal alterations, new entrance doors and windows and now Starbucks has submitted plans to put signs up.
Under the plans the hotel, which has a pub on the ground floor, would still operate as a hotel on the upper three floors but the bar would be converted into a coffee shop.
But Wendy Baird, owner of the Picnic Basket café in Carrington Street, said she was worried about the number of chains that are springing up in the road.
"I am concerned," she said.
"I feel a bit browbeaten to be honest. Over the past few years there's been a bit of an assault on Carrington Street – we've got Tesco, Gregg's, Subway and now Sainsbury's.
"I find it really hard to figure out what the council want the city centre to look like, they're on a road to ruin independence.
"You can go to any city centre these days and they all look identical. We don't have funds like the big names.
"We have to find different ways to hold our own, luckily the people of Nottingham keep supporting us."
The Post was unable to contact Starbucks or the Bentinck Hotel, so it is not yet known exactly when work could begin on the shop.
However, further plans have now been submitted to the council requesting permission for signs to be placed outside the building.
Local residents also questioned whether the city needed another coffee chain.
Brad Loxley, 21 of Bute Avenue in Lenton, said: "I think there's too many Starbucks already. I wouldn't drink at them.
"Nottingham's got quite a good independent café scene."
And Beth Steed, 22, of Colville Street in the city centre, said: "It might be nicer to have a nice bar there instead, like you have at St Pancras."
She said she would rather stop for a coffee at Hopkinson vintage shop which has a coffee bar and café in Station Street, although she admitted Starbucks might be more popular for busy commuters.
Meanwhile, Lynne Connolly, who works at Hopkinson, said she did not think Starbucks would necessarily affect their trade.
"People come here for the nice atmosphere," she said.
"It's completely different to Starbucks.
"Any new business is bringing footfall to us regardless. We're not just a café, it's an antique centre."
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