Would you want a Gail's bakery where you live? Brits say posh chain is good news for house prices but fear 'spending £10 on coffee and cake' speaking to MailOnline, after revolt at plans for new eaterie in Walthamstow Village.
The co-founder of Gail's bakery has broken his silence amid a gentrification row that has seen the upmarket bakery face revolts as they plan to expand to towns and suburbs across the UK.
Chief executive Tom Molnar has slammed claims the chain is ruining high streets, as they spread at a rate of a new shop every fortnight The entrepreneur worked at TV-AM as an assistant to former Conservative MP Jonathan Aitken, who was an investor in the broadcaster, and was also an analyst at investment bank Kleinwort Benson.
He also became the youngest ever chairman of Channel 4 in 2004 and donated money towards the Brexit campaign before the EU referendum. The Worthing Society, which aims to 'preserve' and 'safeguard' the town's heritage, has expressed concerns the bakery's aesthetic might not harmonise with the historic street on which it is set to open.
A Gail's sign on the front of the vacant shop in Worthing says: 'Hello Worthing. We'll be baking here soon'. Earlier this month, Gail's hit the headlines when residents of gentrified Walthamstow Village launched a fight to stop a branch opening on their high street. During the General Election campaign earlier this year, the Liberal Democrats targeted constituencies where there are Gail's outlets - believing there were Conservative voters who could be prepared to swing - in a scheme launched by Sir Ed Davey and dubbed 'Operation Cinnamon Bun'.
The Worthing Society has also expressed its concern for an 'illuminated hanging sign' which they said would not be consistent with the conservation are.A Gail's spokesperson told the broadsheet: 'We understand the concern, but our view is that a healthy high street is one with a diversity of quality offers, each delivering their best.
MailOnline recently went to speak to residents in Petersfield , Greenwich and Witney to find out their views on the coffee chain and its impact on the local economy. Houses in Petersfield, which sits in the South Downs countryside, cost an average of half a million pounds. Shoppers on the High Street in the leafy Hampshire market town said they feel 'sorry' for local bakeries in the town after the arrival of upmarket chain Gail'
'It is really quite expensive - I would pay for it, but I would probably feel a bit sick that I spent £10 on coffee and cake.' Her daughter has inherited her love for the bakery. She said: 'My daughter starts school in September - she said can I get my hair cut, my nails painted and can we go to Gail's?'
On whether Gail's improves the High Street, the 63-year-old said: 'I don't think it actually improves Petersfield in that way. Despite plans to open another to shops in London and having more than 130 openings, managers at Gail's do not consider themselves a chain. Maisy Cole, 24, also preferred to support local coffee shops and businesses, claiming these places were 'a lot more friendly'
When asked if she felt a Gail's made Greenwich more gentrified, Joslin said: 'Yeh I would definitely say so. It's always the first thing to pop up. 'Big corporations coming in attracting new customers. It pushes the local coffee shops out and I can see why local residents are not happy about that. Linda Kennedy, 71, was pleased to see another coffee shop open in the area, claiming they couldn't get into any other outlets most of the time because they were too busy
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