Simon Gilmore, of Crowthers Hill, Dartmouth, writes:

The man from del Costa, he say: ‘Yes.’

But the people of Dartmouth, we say: ‘No – clear off!’

The Costa coffee chain has made a bid to take over the empty card shop in Victoria Road, Dartmouth. It seems at the moment as if it might get away with it. Here we go again…

Apparently Costa said it is going to invest £300,000 into Dartmouth. Really? How and what on?

I think what it actually means is that it will spend £300,000 on redeveloping the old card shop into an expensive Costa coffee shop that will take business from all the other independent shops here in the town.

It said it will give employment to 10 staff. I think what it actually means is that it will pay a minimum wage to people who are not from Dartmouth.

When did anyone go into a Costa shop at a motorway ­service station and get served by someone who is local?

But that is not the issue. The questions are: do we really need yet another coffee shop?; and are we prepared to let another major national retailer barge its way in and take ­business away from the few independent shops we have left?

We have loads of very good coffee shops in Dartmouth; so many, in fact, that if you had one coffee in each shop in one morning, your head would spin into orbit with caffeine overload, your eyes would look like bloodshot lollipops and you would need sleeping pills for a month.

Totnes managed to wage war on Costa and won. We can do the same. Let’s show some ­mettle.

Dartmouth needs more ­independent retailers with more imagination rather than another coffee shop. Do we want to end up like Henley high street?

We need to entice independent retailers with new and innovative ideas and goods

to sell. We need to make Dartmouth a town of great inspiration and keep it unique.

Nothing personal, Costa, I’m sure you are made up of very nice people, but please, not in Dartmouth.