A new business estate which could include a drive-thru Starbucks and Burger King and create up to 100 jobs in Northwich has been given the green light.
Cheshire West and Chester planning officers have rubber-stamped an application for the vacant land off Station Road and Leicester Street - formerly occupied by The Car Centre car showroom and Enterprise Rent a Car.
The plans include building three new units for business or industrial use, and re-purposing an existing building into a new unit. There will also be a drive-thru coffee shop and fast food restaurant constructed along with dozens of parking spaces for customers.
A design and access statement submitted on behalf of Alderley Edge-based applicant North West Portfolio Limited, said the units would be suited to small start-up companies and local existing businesses. It said the existing building which is planned for conversion would probably be occupied by an existing local company which is looking for new premises.
The report said: “It is intended that the proposed drive-thru coffee shop would be occupied by Starbucks and the drive-thru restaurant could be potentially occupied by Burger King.”
A total of 59 car parking spaces are also planned, with 47 car parking spaces off Station Road for the drive-thru units and 12 car parking spaces off Leicester Street for the three business/industrial units.
An economic study submitted in support of the plans said it could create almost 100 jobs in both construction and once it was up and running, adding around £3.16m to the local economy when the doors are open.
The officer’s report said concerns about queuing traffic would be mitigated by changes to the road layout.
It said: “In terms of traffic generation and its impact on the operation of the highway, it is considered that whilst the proposed drive thru units would generate new significant and regular traffic movement in and out of the site, it would not likely result in a severe impact in terms of queues forming in the highway.”
It added: “However, there are some concerns that the combination of the two units, where peak trading times may overlap, does have the potential to lead to queues forming in the highway.
“It is considered likely the formation of any queuing traffic in the highway would be limited and typically contained within the slip road layout proposed so as not to create significant issues for traffic wishing to travel westwards along Station Road.”
The parking provision also includes six disabled bays, five electric charging bays, two ‘click and collect’ parking spaces, two grill bays and a dedicated ‘order waiting bay’ for the drive-thru coffee shop, and eight cycle spaces.
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