New Blackheath Costa Coffee drive-thru approved

Planners at Sandwell Council have given the green light for the new Costa Coffee drive-thru to be built opposite Sainsbury’s petrol station off Horner Way in Blackheath.

The application was approved by the council’s planning committee in July but the plans were later redrawn by Costa to move the proposed drive-thru further away from the road and an underground railway tunnel.

The revised plans have now been approved by Sandwell Council which should pave the way for work to start.

Where the drive-thru will be built (Image: Google)

The previous plans, approved in July, would have seen the Costa Coffee built next to Horner Way with the drive-thru and parking to the rear.

The newly approved plans would now see the car park and Costa swap over with spaces built next to the road.

The proposed opening hours are 5am to 11pm every day. The new drive-thru would create 15 jobs, according to the application.

A statement included with the application said: “Following further review of the scheme, it is proposed to re-position the coffee shop within the application site, which would move it away from the underground rail tunnel which runs across the northern part of the site. 

“There is no material change to the scale and design of the coffee shop itself, which it is proposed would be positioned further to the south of the site and rotated 90 degrees.

“The re-positioning of the coffee shop provides the drive-thru counter on the southern elevation of the site, rather than the eastern elevation, as set out in the planning permission. “There are associated minor adjustments to the landscaping.

“The proposals retained 24 car parking spaces, including two blue badge parking bays in line with the approved scheme. There is no change to the proposed site access, which is as set out in the approved scheme.”