OPINION: Stop being so negative about cafes in Chesterfield

A new cafe could be on its way to Chesterfield town centre.

It's led to a number of critical comments over on social media.

For example:

"Just what Chesterfield needs, a cafe..."

"FFS not another coffee shop."

"What... another one!"

Why are some people so negative?

Cafes are businesses - they employ people.

You may even know someone who works in a local cafe and relies on that employment so they can pay the bills and put food on the table for their kids.

That's certainly not a bad thing.

A lot of people complain about empty shops in Chesterfield town centre - so it should be welcomed when any business wants to breathe new life into a vacant unit.

It was sad to see 5-7 High Street empty for so long - then Patisserie Valerie came along and rejuvenated the building.

I walked past there recently and it was packed - it was very positive to see.

Yes, there are a number of cafes in Chesterfield town centre - but the town is certainly not swamped with them.

There's a fantastic mix of stores in the area - if you don't want to relax in a cafe, you have many other options.

According to latest statistics we have from Chesterfield Borough Council, of the 354 town centre retail units, 92.37 per cent are occupied - meaning Chesterfield has a vacancy rate of 7.63 per cent compared to a national average of 12.2 per cent.

Councillor Steve Brunt, the council's cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, told us: "High streets and town centres are changing across the country due to the impact of the internet, which has seen the closure of many household retail names.

"As town centres evolve in the future we will see a different mix of uses to the past. We are already beginning to see this in Chesterfield where there has been a switch to more leisure use within the retail areas of the town centre."

So as our great town centre evolves amid the rise of internet shopping and more people move to the heart of Chesterfield thanks to new housing developments, expect to see more businesses such as cafes open - and try to see the positives...