RESISTING THE CORPORATIONS

'We don't want a Starsucks,' say Brighton campaigners

You would have thought that the last thing Brighton needs is another Starbucks. Four new branches of the American multinational coffeehouse chain have opened in Brighton in the last few years at the expense of local businesses. But that didn't stop Starbucks opening a sixth store last May in St James Street, Kemptown, despite vociferous local opposition.

After seven months of persistent campaigning, a make-shift alliance of small businesses, local residents and committed 'trouble makers', dubbed 'Brighton Against Starbucks', has succeeded in challenging the financial viability of the store.

Starbucks developments often arrive as part of a 'corporate invasion' of an inner city area. Branches in Hove and Brighton's South Lanes were opened at the same time as the decimation of small local business in favour of multinational chain stores. St James Street is one of the most individual areas in Brighton, with lots of local shops and businesses. Starbucks' request for planning permission on the street came alongside plans for a new Tesco Express and other chains. This time, however, local residents were having none of it.

As news of the planned Starbucks spread, a Facebook group was set up and representations were made to the council. It soon became clear that the company had begun work on the new store without planning permission. On the day before the store was due to open, Starbucks' planning application was refused. But the company opened its new store the following day anyway.

During the week the store was opened, hundreds of people held a demonstration calling for its closure. Since then, weekly pickets have been held outside the shop and hundreds of letters have been written to the local authorities. On top of the campaign's activities, there is widespread anger against the store in the local area. There are rumours that the store's windows have been smashed a few times and the locks have been superglued.

Brighton Against Starbucks has made representations to the City Council asking them to enforce their planning regulations. In November, the group sent a delegation to the Council meeting calling on the council to issue Starbucks with an enforcement order. The day before the planned delegation, the order was served and Starbucks received a notice giving them two months to cease trading in the store. The planning permission still allows them to sell take-away coffee though.

Interestingly, despite the overwhelmingly lawful nature of the Brighton Against Starbucks campaign, Sussex Police are apparently beginning to take an interest in the weekly pickets. In fact, since the Council filed a notice against the store, police have begun to prioritise keeping a constant presence at the pickets. Protestors have been warned under Council noise bylaws for speaking on megaphones. Campaigners, who have vowed to continue demonstrating until the St James Street Starbucks is closed down, wonder whether this is because their campaign is beginning to pose a serious threat to this branch of a multinational company.

The Brighton Against Guantanamo campaign (previously the Save Omar campaign) has also been joining the protests to highlight the fact that Starbucks has a branch in the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison.

Starbucks is well known for its practice of saturating a locality with its coffeehouse branches in order to drive out competitors. Starbucks stores are often opened for this purpose and operate at a loss, closing when the competition has been driven out. The Starbucks empire has faced international resistance, and not only against new store developments. The International Workers of the World (IWW) have staged dozens of protests against the company's anti-union policy. The IWW, along with other trade unions, have successfully formed union branches within some Starbucks stores, despite the company's chairman Howard Schulz's stating that, "If they had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn't need a union."