Not on our high street: Hundreds of people in Norfolk market town fight plans for Greggs store

Plans for a new Greggs store in a rural market town have sparked a wave of opposition from locals- attracting over a thousand signatures on a petition.

Greggs is one of the country's best known bakery chains, but some in the town of Swaffham, Norfolk, fear the proposals would be bad for Wellbread Bakers, a family-run business that has been in the community for 50 years.

Emma Godfrey, 35, runs the bakery alongside her husband Andy. She says it would be devastating if Greggs put them out of business.

"This is mine and my husband's only source of income" she said.

"My husband's skill is in baking and independent bakers are becoming a thing of the past so it would be devastating if it effects us enough that we can't keep going.

"Including ourselves there's 14 team members here and some of the team have been here 20 years.

"We are like a family so the thought of having to make people redundant is absolutely heartbreaking."

Greggs is seeking permission from Breckland Council to move into an empty store in the town's Market Place.

The national bakery chain, which has been around for 85 years, currently has over 2,500 shops in the UK but aims to have more than 3,000.

There was previously a Greggs in Swaffham, at a service station on the A47, but it closed down, leaving the nearest outlets in Dereham and Downham Market.

Swaffham’s town centre already has several cafes and bakeries, including Costa Coffee and a Subway.

But Lisa Newman, who works as a counter assistant at Wellbread bakers, described the plans as 'a shame.'

"We need to support small independent businesses in small towns" she told ITV News Anglia.

"They come and take over and if it doesn't work for them they close and it doesn't make any difference to them but in the meantime they may have put us out of our business."

Some in the town say the proposals will breathe new life into an empty store, but despite welcoming the petition, Mrs Godfrey feels there is no stopping the national chain.

"I don't think that the petition will stop them from coming unfortunately but the petition has done wonders for our sales.

"I hope there's enough support and both shops will manage to trade alongside one another."

Swaffham Town Council has said it has no objections to the plans, which will ultimately be determined by Breckland Council. The application will be considered in due course.

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