Coffee chain brings trade to town

A national chain of coffee shops is set to open its doors right in the heart of Ripley.

The former Yorkshire Bank premises in Oxford Street are set to be turned into a branch of Costa Coffee.

Development company ARBA Group, which specialises in retail and leisure projects, acquired the site which has been empty for a couple of years.

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The three-storey building will house Costa Coffee on the ground floor, while above it there are plans for apartments.

ARBA, which has carried out similar projects across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, has just started work on refurbishing the building, extending to the rear of it, and installing a new frontage. The work is being carried out by Tanbry Construction.

It is hoped that Costa will then begin the internal shop fitting in May, with a view to opening in the summer.

Richard Burns, from ARBA, said: “Ripley has a fantastic town centre, and the addition of a Costa Coffee will help to drive footfall and keep people in the shopping area for longer.

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“Town centres are changing. Where once people only went there to shop, visitors now want to shop, meet friends and enjoy leisure time.

“It therefore makes perfect sense to repurpose an empty building for a modern use. This project, which will in total mean a £500,000 investment into Ripley, will also create a number of jobs. It’s a positive sign that Ripley has a lot to offer those who live, work and visit.”

The news has been welcomed by people in the town.

Ripley Town Council leader Councillor Steve Freeborn, said: “I’m very happy to see this take place, as it brings another building back into active use. It has to be good news for Ripley that a national chain has confidence in the amount of footfall in the town.”