A bid to build a Starbucks drive-thru near Westwood Cross shopping centre has been green-lighted.

Plans were submitted by applicant L S Thanet Ltd to open the new facility on a site off New Cross Road in Broadstairs, next to McDonald’s and near Sainsbury’s.

The drive-thru will be accessed through the existing McDonald’s car park.

The applicant, in planning documents drawn up by the Harris Partnership, said they wanted to create a single-storey standalone coffee shop with a drive-thru facility, with landscaping, access and parking.

"The proposal will provide a welcome, high quality addition to this area of Westwood, helping to bring activity and value to a vacant plot of land and bringing further vibrancy and vitality to the area," they said.

Thanet District Council have since approved the plans after they were submitted earlier this year.

A total of 18 car parking spaces - including two disabled bays and two for e-car charging - and six for bikes will be provided with space for eight queuing.

The plans also propose a waiting bay within the drive-thru lane, to minimise waiting traffic within the main car park, and there will be an outdoor seating area.

"The design has a clear rationale that when completed, will sit comfortably within its setting," the developers added. "The proposal is a clean, simple and well detailed building, designed to provide a high-quality contribution to the existing area.

"The material palette will aim to utilize cladding and high-quality glazing to achieve a modern but sensitive addition to the area.

"The development will provide a positive contribution and is contemporary and will provide new job opportunities."

Starbucks will take on 14 full-time staff and six part-time, and will be open from 6am to 8pm seven days a week.

In the planning documents, L S Thanet Ltd says the building will follow Starbucks’ 2020 branding, with a mixture of timber cladding, fibre-cement cladding panels and glazing.

“Internally, the design concept is to create a bright, lively, modern, and contemporary feel for visitors to the restaurant,” they said.

The site was previously earmarked for a wider development that was only partially built.

In a planning statement, the proposed drive-thru is described as the “missing piece of the jigsaw” from the 2012 masterplan for the southern section of Westwood Cross.

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