New drive-thru Starbucks could be coming to popular Rochdale retail park

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A new drive-thru Starbucks could be coming to a popular Rochdale retail park. The coffee giant has plans for a new outlet at Sandbrook Retail Park - already home to big names such Pizza Hut, McDonalds and Pure Gym, as well as an Odeon cinema.

Plans for a drive-thru cafe first surfaced seven years ago as part of a new phase of the development which saw the old B&Q part-demolished and a Travelodge and two new shops spring up at the site.

However, problems with a water culvert beneath the site led to the proposed coffee shop being shelved so the remainder of the scheme to be built out.But applicant AIG Holdings says it has identified a ‘continued demand for a drive-thru unit in this location’ and has now lodged revised plans to the council.

Papers say the drive-thru would be occupied by Starbucks and ‘represents an important opportunity to deliver enhancements’ to the retail park.READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community A planning statement reads: “The proposal seeks to enhance the retail and leisure offer of an established retail and leisure destination, contributing to a complementary and beneficial mix of uses, facilitating linked trips and visitors to out of centre retail and leisure destinations expect the type of facilities proposed to be available.”And it argues that - following the pandemic - retailers are favouring the drive-thru format due to changes in consumer habits and demands. “The addition of a drive thru coffee shop will provide a service currently unavailable to the park’s existing customers,” the document continues. “Drive-thru coffee shop facilities such as that which is proposed, are now a common feature at similar retail and leisure parks across the country and are part of