LEADING voices in Winchester have expressed fears that there are now too many bars and cafés in the city centre following the opening of another nationwide chain.

Pret a Manger opened on the High Street last week, replacing Monsoon.

A number of other cafés have also opened in recent years, with Costa, Starbucks and Caffé Nero all within 100 yards.

There are also plans for a new espresso bar where Shoe Zone is, raising concerns over the number of shops being lost.

City councillor Ian Tait believes that the council now needs to review the issue: “Whilst I think that the increase in restaurants and other food outlets has been a good thing for Winchester I do have some concerns that we may possibly be reaching saturation point or at least need a period of consolidation.

“We also need to be careful that we don’t make it too difficult for other businesses to trade from the city centre so that may mean the council looking again at its policies to create powers to protect businesses from being pushed out in favour of food retailers.”

Patrick Davies, chairman of the policy committee of the City of Winchester Trust, but speaking in a personal capacity, said: “There are issues about the number of new eating and drinking places. It would be very useful to have a review of the policy over shops turning into bars and restaurants.”

Catherine Turness, executive director of Winchester BID, said she was optimistic that the vitality of the High Street will remain. There was interest from new retailers and they had not expressed concerns about the number of eating or drinking outlets.

Ms Turness said: “I know of a few national fashion retailers who are hoping to find a spot in the High Street, so I am certain there will be more fashion outlets in the future.

“We will monitor the situation closely and will continue our dialogue with the city council on ensuring the right vitality and mix of businesses.”

The Chronicle has seen the proposal for the unit where Shoe Zone is, where Corretto seek to turn it into a café/bar with the addition of a kitchen and bar on the ground floor, with another bar on the second floor.

Hampshire Chronicle:

The proposed opening times are 11am-1am Sunday-Wednesday and 11am-2am Thursday-Saturday.

The City of Winchester Trust commented that “there may be concerns about noise late at night,” due to the proposed late closing times.

Cllr Steve Miller, portfolio holder for the economy at the city council, said he was beginning to grow concerned that the balance may be tipping too far towards cafe and restaurants.

He said: "I'm concerned that potentially Winchester ceases to be a shopping destination."

But he said there was relatively little the council could do in a free market. "He who pays the most gets the property. Winchester needs to keep its shops so it is attractive enough to keep visitors. But what can we do about it? Probably very little because of the planning laws.

"But Winchester still has plenty of shops and there is large demand for bigger units. The ones being converted are not particularly big."

Stewart Dunn, chief executive of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It is important to keep a balance between restaurants and shops. We are now very much a cafe society and that is supporting Winchester tourism.

"I think we need to be very careful that we do not overstep the balance. It could be a vicious circle; if you don't have the shops then you don't have the people.

"It needs to be seriously looked at by the planners, that need to retain the good balance."