CONTROVERSIAL plans for a drive-thru coffee shop at a city retail park are due to come before planners this month as a councillor vows to fight the scheme all the way.

The 'resurrected' plans for the Starbucks drive thru in Elgar Retail Park in Blackpole in Worcester are due to come before Worcester City Council's planning committee on Thursday, June 20.

Cllr Jill Desayrah, who called in the application so it would come under the microscope for closer scrutiny, organised a protest against a similar, previous application, also at Elgar Retail Park.

This earlier scheme had been due to come before Worcester City Council planners in January but was withdrawn in December.

The original application to Worcester City Council was withdrawn by the applicants with TPOs placed on four of the trees which caused ripples of relief - until the amended plans were submitted.

Concerns about the latest application still centre on the impact on residents of the drive-thru thru including noise, antisocial behaviour, parking problems, litter and traffic congestion.

PROTECTED: Cllr Jill Desayrah at Elgar Retail Park - one of the reasons a previous Starbucks application had to be withdrawn was because of protected trees on the site which led to an amended application now due back before planners PROTECTED: Cllr Jill Desayrah at Elgar Retail Park - one of the reasons a previous Starbucks application had to be withdrawn was because of protected trees on the site which led to an amended application now due back before planners (Image: Newsquest)

The new application by Legal and General Assurance was received by Worcester City Council on Tuesday, March 19 with a consultation launched the following day (closing on April 12).

They have so far declined to speak on the record about the proposal. The latest incarnation of the scheme was previously described as 'groundhog day' by Cllr Desayrah.

Developers are also applying to create a McDonald's and Starbucks drive-thru in Warndon Villages, around a mile away from the Elgar Retail Park site.

If approved, the proposal would mean the drive-thru would be built on land adjacent to the roundabout at the top of Plantation Drive in Warndon Villages.

Cllr Desayrah, a Labour councillor for Warndon, plans to speak against the Elgar Retail Park scheme.

She said of the proposal:  “This resurrected plan to build a drive-through coffee shop at the Elgar Retail Park remains a terrible idea.

"Local community objections abound. Serious concerns have been raised about its expected impact on the lives of local residents who expect to suffer further traffic gridlock, environmental issues and increased antisocial behaviour if this application is approved.

"Lack of another suitable site was one reason given for the application originally. But since then a new application has been made to build one less than a mile away, so how can this be right?

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"Very similar objections have been lodged against this new application. But their impact will be far worse at the Elgar Retail park because it’s within a residential area.

"Many of the fears about what both of these schemes might bring actually reflect reality for people living here now, so I can’t stand by and watch while things get even worse. I will be supporting my residents and fighting this all the way.”

The proposal, if given the green light, would result in the loss of 35 parking spaces although 11 additional spaces will be provided elsewhere in the car park (an overall loss of 24 spaces).