Plans unveiled for Starbucks drive-thru at Peterborough's Bretton Centre

New plans have been drawn up to create a Starbucks drive-thru at Peterborough’s Bretton Centre.

The proposals involve building the cafe in the car park of the centre but which will mean the loss of 40 spaces.

The plans, which have been drawn up on behalf of the centre owners, the Balr Group, have been submitted to Peterborough City Council for approval.

If the plans get the go ahead the drive-thru is expected to create 27 jobs comprising 15 full-time and 17 part-time roles with varied working hours.

A document submitted with the application states: “Unlike the position at many other retail parks, there is currently no drive-thru coffee operator represented at Bretton Centre, or the surrounding district centre, the closest being 1.8 miles away.

"The applicant is seeking to address this qualitative deficiency in the retail park’s overall offer through the provision of a modern, purpose-built, drive-thru coffee shop occupied by a leading brand.

“Starbucks, which has 1,228 stores in the UK, regards the proposed new unit as being ideally suited to meet its business and operational requirements.

It adds: “The applicant’s development initiative, coupled with Starbucks’ support, will assist in sustaining and reinforcing Bretton Centre’s overall role and attraction which, in turn, will ensure that the retail park continues to make a positive contribution towards the local economy, both in terms of safeguarding existing jobs and creating new employment opportunities at a widely accessible district centre.”

The plans for the drive-thru, which will have a 162.5 square metre interior, involve the creation of a seating area, customer toilets, food and drink preparation area, and “back of house” storage/staff facilities.

The proposal also provides a total of four dedicated new parking spaces, including two accessible spaces, to cater for the new development with an existing gap in the car parking along the western site extents filled in with two standard parking bays.

News of the plans for the drive-thru comes four months after it was announced that fast food giant McDonalds is planning to open a restaurant at the centre creating 120 jobs.