Plans for drive-thru Starbucks on Asda Queensferry car park given green light

Plans for a drive-thru Starbucks coffee shop in the car park of Queensferry Asda have been given the green light by Flintshire Council planners.

A planning  application was been submitted in October on behalf of EG Group Limited, owned by the Billionaire Issa brothers who bought the Asda supermarket chain from its US owner Walmart in 2020.

The new Starbucks will occupy a section of the car park which is currently used for Asda’s click and collect service, opposite the petrol station.

According to the plans the new development, covering 185 square metres, will include an inside seating area.

A number of full and part-time jobs will be created as a result of the development, EG Group has said. 

The planning document states: “The site of the proposed drive-thru development forms part of the Asda store is situated in the eastern end of the store car park and is currently laid down as car parking and circulation and includes the customer click and collect kiosk.”

“The proposed development comprises the redevelopment of part of the Asda car park to provide one single storey building for the sale of hot drinks, with a ‘drive-thru’ lane, together with associated car and cycle parking, and refuse storage.”

“Vehicular access to the unit can be ascertained from Aston Road to the west – through the Asda car park – or from Chester Road East via the car park entrance on this road.” 

“There is an existing footpath link from Chester Road East which links into the pedestrian concourse around the proposed drive thru before leading on to the main Asda store.”

“The drive thru lane is segregated from the car park circulation to ensure it does not impede circulation within the car park. 

There will be consequent alterations to facilitate the internal circulation within the car park.”

“The ‘drive-thru’ lane encircles the proposed building in a clockwise direction, with drivers placing their orders shortly after entering the ‘drive-thru’ lane by way of a speaker post situated on the eastern side of the building and then collecting their orders from a ‘pick-up’ window on the southern elevation.”

According to the planning officer’s report, one letter was received from a local resident concerned about waste disposal and litter.

Planning Officer Jenni Perkins said in her report: “It is proposed that CCTV will be installed to discourage antisocial behaviour in the vicinity of the unit.”

“Furthermore, the unit’s operational procedures will require regular litter picking patrols to be undertaken 3 times a day to maintain the quality of the local environment.”

“Litter bins will be provided outside the restaurant and will carry anti-littering symbols to encourage customers to dispose of litter responsibly.”

“A contact point for email and mail contact will be established to allow the local community to contact the restaurant to express concerns about discarded litter or related issues.”

The planning officer’s report adds: “It is considered that the scale and form of the proposed building is appropriate for this location and will provide a high quality of design.”

“Being a single-storey construction, the building proposed is of small scale, and the quality of the design and materials ensures it will provide a high-quality appearance which compliments the material palette and colour scheme of the Asda store.”

“It is intended that the Starbucks unit will trade from 07:00am until 11:00pm daily which is considered appropriate in this location.”

“In conclusion, the proposal satisfies the aims of National and Local Planning policy and accordingly the application is recommended for approval.”

[Photographs used above are of a similar size drive-thru Starbucks at an Asda store near Manchester/ thompsonslimited.co.uk]