A new Domino’s Pizza which has opened in a Leeds market town is causing “worry” and “sadness” among residents who are concerned about how it will affect their neighbourhood.
There are fears the new takeaway in Wetherby, in North Leeds, will cause the town to lose some of its “charm” as it’s the first major fast-food chain franchise to open in the town centre. This comes after fury from residents when it was announced local Italian restaurant Sant’ Angelo would become a Wetherspoon pub, with fears drunken yobs would flock to their “conservative” town.
There’s also a sense of anxiety over how it will affect “struggling” local independent pizza takeaways, with three independents located in close proximity to the Domino’s.
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Plus, the “awkward” location of the chain-takeaway has caused concerns. The Domino’s is situated on Westgate, on a busy road beside a set of traffic lights which gets chock-a-block with parking.
Disgruntled residents have said people are going to have to walk all the way across the town to get their “unhealthy” pizza, adding the pizzas will likely “get cold”.
Retired nursery nurse Susan Fitton, 75, who “doesn’t eat pizza” and was visiting from Barwick-on-Elmet to shop, raised her concerns on the matter.
The grandmother-of-four said: “They’ve jumped in at the wrong time, there are other pizza places that are struggling. It’s in a bit of an awkward spot as well, for parking and coming through the lights.
“It’s sad. I mean look at Sant’ Angelo, it’s going to be a Wetherspoon. Its [Wetherby's] charm is going to be affected.”
'I'm worried'
The independent pizza places in Wetherby town centre are Moji’s Pizzeria, Pizza Bella and Pizza Milano. Semi-retired food supplier Darren Coulson, 55, said he “feels sorry” and is "worried" for the independents.
But the the father-of-three has admitted his house is torn over the controversial new takeaway. He said: “I prefer the independents and not the big corporate chains coming into small towns.
"We’ve got three kids and they all love Domino’s so they’re pleased, I think the older generation will be more faithful to the other ones. We just feel sorry for the local businesses who are already struggling.
"For a small town, we’ve got quite a few pizza places. I’m worried for any independents. It’s like the Wetherspoon opening, I’m a bit worried about how that’s going to affect the local pubs.
“We have a place in Whitby and one of the things I love about Whitby is that they don’t let any of the big corporate companies in. So there’s no chain restaurants, no KFC, no McDonald’s and no Burger King. It’s all independents, it’s more special.”
'Not healthy'
Married couple Cliff and Sue Smith, 70 and 63, who don’t eat “unhealthy” pizza were fairly indifferent to the new Domino's in town. They admitted however the chain-takeaway is sure to cause competition for the town’s independents and parking “will be an issue”.
Cliff, a retired medicinal scientist, said: “It will affect the local independents, I’m sure it will. There’s more competition now basically.”
Sue, a retired teacher, said: “They’ll probably feel worried – but I’m sure there will be enough business for everybody.
“Parking is going to be an issue, there’s no parking nearby, they’re going to have to park in Morrisons and by the time you’ve walked there, your pizza will be cold by the time you’ve gotten back to your car.”
Asked if they would order food from the Domino's, Sue said: “Unlikely, we like healthy eating and pizzas are not healthy.”
'Parking is not so good'
Retired hospital administrator Cath Hoyle, 76, agrees that parking is not ideal. Cath said: “Drivers will have to walk and use their legs, the parking is not so good. So that may affect them as parking is limited. They’re not supposed to stop there, are they?”
But overall she thinks Domino’s is a good thing for Wetherby and thinks it may attract tourism. Cath explained: “I actually think Wetherby needs these types of things because at the moment it’s just charity shops, and that’s it.
“If people want to come for a little day out, they may want to go to Domino’s. There’s a sale on and these places are usually a bit more on the expensive side so people may want to ride out here.”
A spokesperson for Domino’s Pizza said: "We pride ourselves on being a positive presence in all the communities we serve, and are delighted our fresh, handcrafted pizza is now available to locals in Wetherby. To allow us to fully train our 15 new in-store team members, we have opened the store on collection only service for the next few weeks.
"We continue to encourage customers to park in the parking spaces near the town hall when they pick up their collection orders from the store. For customers who prefer their pizzas delivered, you won't have to wait much longer as our delivery service will return soon."
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