Southport’s first ever Starbucks drive-through coffee shop can now be built next to Southport Pier, creating 20 new local jobs.
Plans for the new development, on the car park at Ocean Plaza in Southport, have been approved by Sefton Council. It would also include an external seating area.
The site is currently used for 79 parking spaces.
The new facility will be situated in the car park opposite the existing McDonald’s drive through.
It will be the first drive-through Starbucks in Southport, joining the Starbucks outlet which already exists on Lord Street in Southport town centre.
Southport Pleasureland owner Norman Wallis recently gained planning approval to construct a new coffee shop, ice cream parlour and station terminal at the entrance to Southport Miniature Railway nearby in a further boost for Ocean Plaza.
In his report, Sefton Council Chief Planning Officer Derek Mckenzie wrote: “The addition of a single-storey flat roof building to this existing hard landscaped area of open air car parking would not be detrimental to the historic and landscape character of the Seafront, as it would be viewed as a grouping of similarly proportioned development with the buildings on the opposite side of Marine Parade.
“The proposed development would not harm the function of the area as a regionally important centre for tourism. While there will be a loss of public car parking spaces (as those to be provided may be linked or otherwise limited to use by customers) this does not undermine the tourist function of the area as a whole.”
Derek McKenzie also assessed the potential impact of the new Starbucks on Southport Pier which will be situated next to it.
He wrote: “Adjacent to the site runs the Grade II Listed pier, which also lies within the designated Promenade Conservation Area.
“The proposed building is of a modest single-storey height with a flat roof. While it will introduce above ground development the footprint, scale and appearance will not detract from the setting of the pier, particularly as the pier extends beyond this site.
“The scale ensures that the proposal does not compete with nor try to limit views to the pier, which is aided by the use of a flat rather than pitched or curved roof as seen nearby.”
The new drive-through Starbucks represents further investment in Ocean Plaza, which saw the closure of Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito during the Covid pandemic.
In its application to the council, The Harris Partnership said: “Whilst forming part of the immediate setting of the pier, in its current use as a car park, the site does not contribute to the way in which the significance or special interest of the listed structure is appreciated and understood.”
It added that the new Starbucks has the “potential to activate an under-utilised site which benefits from a prominent position”.
Starbucks had been in discussion with Sefton Council’s planning department about the scheme since 2019, and following discussions and advice it subsequently submitted a formal planning application.
In 2017 a planning application was submitted to Sefton Council to build a new Starbucks drive-through coffee shop at the BP Garage site on Scarisbrick New Road, on the outskirts of the town centre, but the scheme was never pursued.
Plans have now been lodged to convert the BP Garage site into a 24-hour Asda convenience store.
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
