Drive-thru Costa planned for B&Q car park in Newbury
Cafe would be the fifth in the town
PLANS have been submitted to build a drive-thru Costa Coffee in the corner of the B&Q car park on London Road in Newbury.
London Road Ltd, which owns the site, has applied to build the one-storey pod in the north-east corner of the car park.
It would operate as a normal café but with drive-thru facilities, and the drive-thru would run along the north side of the café – parallel with London Road.
If built, it would be the fifth Costa in Newbury, with the other four located in Northbrook Street, Parkway Shopping, Newbury retail park and upstairs in the Tesco in Pinchington Lane.
The design and access statement from architect Mountford Pigott says up to 15 jobs will be created, and the unit will contribute to the continued regeneration of the area, after plans to build a new Lidl on the site of the former Narrow Boat pub on London Road were approved earlier this month.
The statement says: “The introduction of a popular food/drink drive-thru unit to the site contributes to the regeneration of the area by creating an opportunity to provide important jobs to the local community, and bring the overall site into more active use.
“The proposed unit forms a high-quality gateway to the eastern section of the retail park, therefore improving the streetscape and softening the visual impact of the large retail units and car parking in the background as seen from London Road and the site entrance.
“Overall, the proposals will encourage sustainability, provide greater choice and competition, deliver important employment opportunities, represent substantial private sector investment, and further enhance the appearance of a prominent gateway site into Newbury.”
The application would see the total number of car parking spaces across the eastern car park reduced from 288 to 278.
However, the same amount of disabled car parking spaces would be retained, while three parent and child spaces would be introduced, which don’t currently exist.
The application will now go to West Berkshire Council for consideration.
