Aberystwyth’s high street just got a little colder – Starbucks has shut its doors for good. The coffee giant, once a cosy go-to for students, locals and tourists, has called time on its town-centre café. No more chats over cappuccinos. No more warm window seats. Just silence and an empty shopfront.
Aberystwyth’s mayor, Maldwyn Pryse, warned us about this.
Pryse is campaigning against the high cost of doing business in the town centre. He says business rates here are “insanely high” — nearly three times more expensive than Swansea’s main shopping street and even costing more per square metre than Cardiff’s St Mary Street
.
Because of this, small local shops struggle while big retail parks thrive on lower rates.
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In the meantime, Costa Coffee has fired up plans for a brand-new
drive-thru
over at the Parc y Llyn retail park.
Drive-thru plans at PARC Y LLYN (Ceredigion County Council)
Drive-throughs might be quick, but they come at a cost.
They add more traffic, more engine idling, and less human connection. Instead of walking into town, people will stay in their cars, sip behind a windscreen, and drive off without setting foot in a local shop.
It’s convenient, yes — but it’s also cold, isolating, and bad news for a town
Aber’s heart is in its streets, not its car parks. With Starbucks gone and Costa driving trade out of town, are we losing more than just a coffee shop?
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