BRISTOL Civic Society has criticised a branch of Costa Coffee opening in Gloucester Road despite losing a bid for planning permission.

Stephen Wickham, the society’s chairman, said: “The tactic adopted by Costa appears to be one of trade and be damned. With a high-margin product like wet coffee that must be very tempting.

“There appears to be evidence that they do this nationwide. Their activity in Bristol is therefore unsurprising.

“But is it responsible? We fear not. Costa is in the news for all the wrong reasons, but is it just free advertising? They may think so.

“The consequences of ignoring due process are not very severe, and the opportunity to muscle in on the pitch of other local traders is wide open.”

The Evening Post reported last month that the Gloucester Road branch, run by franchisees Stuart and Lynn Montgomery of Westbury-on-Trym, had opened in a former newsagent’s shop despite only having permission for retail use with a maximum of four chairs, one table and no public toilets.

The branch has been served with an enforcement notice although this will not be considered until the outcome of a planning appeal is known.

An enforcement notice has also been served on another Costa Coffee branch run by Mr and Mrs Montgomery in Whiteladies Road for not having the correct planning consent.

Costa’s managing director John Derkach said in a reply to a letter by Bristol West Lib Dem MP Stephen Williams that the firm had no intention to flout the law.

He said South West Coffee Ltd, a franchisee of Costa, had “commenced the planning process in good faith” and consulted with the council “at every step”.

Mr Wickham said: “Most single-branch local shops have a nail-biting first year discovering if their investment business model really works in the locality after incurring full fit-out costs. Too many fold at 13 months as a result of getting that wrong.”

He said national micro-supermarkets and massage parlour owners both sometimes appeared to adopt the ambush-opening tactic to bring in turnover while the planning process is sorted out.

He said: “The former may expect to achieve a minor advertising-based planning permission within the first two quarters of trading and the latter to be closed through enforcement within four quarters, but healthy profits are made by both in the meantime.”

Residents and business owners in Gloucester Road handed in a 3,000-name petition to the council in September before planning permission was turned down, despite a recommendation for approval by planning officers.