Costa Drive-Thru Approved Near ‘Busy Junction’ In Worthing

Monday, 24 October 2022 06:00

By Jessica Hubbard @jhjourno

A new Costa Coffee drive-through off the A27 at Worthing has been given the green light.

Costa will build a new branch at Downlands Retail Park at Lyons Farm after it Worthing Borough Council’s planning committee gave plans the go-ahead on Wednesday (October 19).

Worthing Retail Limited submitted the plans earlier this year and the new outlet will sit in the southern part of the 396-space car park, leading to the loss of 26 parking spaces.

James Appleton, the council’s head of planning, regeneration and wellbeing, said that the store would be restricted to selling snacks and coffee, as a national fast food chain could have an unacceptable impact on traffic.

A report before the planning committee outlined how vehicles would be able to queue around the building if using the drive-thru and signs will encourage drivers to turn off their engines as the branch is in an air quality management area .

An air quality assessment concluded that the impacts of the new store would be ‘negligible’ and that levels of air pollution were down to existing traffic.

Costa is expected to make a financial contribution of £30,000 towards air quality monitoring elsewhere.

National Highways originally put in a ‘holding objection’ but this no longer applies.

About 15 new jobs will be created at the branch but planning committee members were unimpressed with the lack of solar panels and planned tree felling.

Helen Silman (Lab, Heene) described the removal of ten trees as unacceptable and described the junction as ‘appalling’. “This is the most polluted part of Worthing apart from Grove Lodge,” she added.

Other councillors were concerned about air-quality issues and the lack of solar panels, though the building will generate 33 per cent of its heating and hot water via an air source heat pump.

Kirill Malkin, a partner at Montagu Evans, the planning agent for Costa, said:

“We are very pleased that finally National Highways are supporting the application.

"It will generate investment and employment opportunities in the local area and as you’ve seen, it’s a high quality scheme; it’s not an off-the-shelf design.”

Mr Malkin said that there would be ‘no net loss of trees’ once new planting was taken into account and the store could be ready in five months.