We thought we won back in March when Waltham Forest's Clem Smith and Stella Creasy MP, assured us that Madre Tierra would not be forced to shut down to make way for a Costa Coffee or whatever ghastly corporate identikit business they had in mind Now, it seems though that the problem has just been kicked down the road. Alessandro has been given notice and will have to leave his trading space on 1 April 2015. He has been told he needs to make an application to the Council (for a cost of £420), which will allow them to consider whether or not he can trade on the other side of the station (a designated non-trading space). We were also told that if the new development has competing commercial interests (eg another coffeeshop), that it is unlikely his application will be accepted. This feels like a stitch up, the kicking of a problem down the road, when hopefully people would have forgotten about the whole thing and the powers-that-be could achieve their original aims without opprobrium. As such, we are starting phase 2 of the Save Madre Tierra Walthamstow campaign. We are crowd-funding the £420 fee for the application, inviting customers to donate 20p, 50p, £1 to the fund, not because Alessandro can't afford it, but because we want to show the Council that we all have a stake, however small, in Madre Tierra's continued success. (You can do this when dropping by Madre Tierra for a coffee whenever you have a chance). We will continue to petition the Council, so they understand that we want Madre Tierra to stay alive, for Alessandro to continue brightening our mornings with the best coffee in town, because he is a value add to the community. At a time when UKIP are saying all sorts of awful things about immigrants, he is a bright and shining example of someone who has come to this country and improve the lives of those around him. Madre Tierra is drop off point for the local food bank. Alex gives homeless people in the community small errands to help build up their sense of worth and aims to raise the funds to provide a small flat for a local man, who has found himself without anywhere to live. The incredible coffee alone distinguishes Madre Tierra, but it is Alessandro's generosity of spirit and his sense of community that that makes his business really special and we do not want to see it destroyed. Please support our campaign to Save Madre Tierra Walthamstow by signing and sharing this petition. Thank you so much and long live Madre Tierra!