Owner warns café will 'go bust' if car parks close

Jane Talbot has owned Café 50 in Yeovil for 12 years

A café owner believes her business and others will "go bust" if local car parks are closed.

Jane Talbot, owner of Café 50 in Princes Street, Yeovil, has started a petition against Somerset Council's proposals to sell Court Ash, North Lane and Stars Lane car parks.

Under the plans set out in the council's Yeovil Masterplan, the sites could be redeveloped into flats. The public has a chance to voice their views in a consultation running until 2 November.

A council spokesperson said there are no plans to close these car parks in the "immediate future".

"The Yeovil Masterplan is about exploring the potential for developing these sites, along with other sites in the town centre, very much in the long term," they said.

This "very early stage" is about finding out what residents want for the town, the spokesperson added.

But, Ms Talbot said she and her customers were "absolutely livid" about the plans.

"If you can't have access to the town, why would you bother coming in?" she said.

She added that her café, which she has owned for 12 years and is "a little community within the community", could go bust.

"We're not just a café. We have people coming in to us who like to chat because they're lonely.

"We're a safe place to come and we will give everybody as much attention as we possibly can," she said.

Court Ash car park is one of the sites earmarked for redevelopment

A Yeovil Town Council meeting is set to take place on 7 October at 19:30 BST for councillors to decide whether to back or oppose the sell-off plans.

Town councillor Tareth Casey said the car parks were "keeping Yeovil's daytime and evening economy alive".

"Redeveloping these sites would mean losing hundreds of spaces, with no clear plan for replacements – while at the same time adding new homes with little or no parking provision," he added.

Somerset Council is scheduled to make its final decision in December.