AN OKEHAMPTON man has launched a petition to get a popular Okehampton café returned to its former glory. Roy Smith said in the first three days of talking to people in the street he accumulated more than 1,000 signatures to get the shop at the entrance of the arcade in Fore Street (formerly Piggy?s Diner) changed back to a café. However, borough planning officers say they cannot recommend a change of use consent from retail (class A1) to tea rooms/café (class A3) which is needed before the building can be revived as a café. Mr Smith said his aim was to gather as many signatures as possible to show there was community support for the return of the café. The petition will be put before West Devon planning committee accompanying his planning application Mr Smith said for 47 years, there had been a café at the bottom of the arcade and he said he had received a great response from the people he had spoken to, with many sharing fond memories of the café. The cafe was used as a location for filming for the BBC?s rural drama Down to Earth five years ago. Mr Smith said: ?It has always been a very good business, a friendly café and it is in an ideal position in the heart of town. ?I first moved here when I was eight and I have been going in there ever since. It was always busy.? Mr Smith said he felt the business would definitely be a going concern and he stressed he had experience in the catering industry. His father used to run a transport café at Winkleigh for several years, and Roy himself had run another café during the summer season in the late 1970s. Mr Smith said he had received support from other traders in the arcade who believed the café would draw people into that part of town. He said the town?s Chamber of Trade had also expressed an interest in his proposals. Mr Smith said he had so far collected 2,800 signatures since launching the petition before Christmas, but said he was aiming to get 4,000 names before handing the document to the planning committee. Mr Smith said he was delighted with the positive initial response to the petition but he said he would not be resting on his laurels: ?I am going to continue tramping the streets for the next couple of weeks to get more names for the petition,? he said. A West Devon Borough Council spokesperson said: ?If you have a café and want to change it into a shop, you do not need planning permission, but by government law, you do need permission if you want to change from retail use (A1) to a café (A3).? The spokesperson said an applicant was quite within their rights to apply for change of use planning permission, but the policy in the borough council?s most recently-adopted Local Plan did not look on such applications favourably. West Devon?s Local Plan states: ?The erosion of retail outlets within the town centre to other uses can cause a loss to the viability and vitality of the town centre.? It states: ?It is important that within these areas where Class A1 currently exists it should be protected from changes of use.?
