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11
Apr 2022
No conditions for Wetherby Road drive-thru to be a Starbucks, says council
No conditions were set for a planned drive-thru on Wetherby Road to be a coffee shop, say Harrogate council officials.
Lancashire-based developer Euro Garages is currently building a Leon restaurant on the site, despite being given permission for a Starbucks drive-thru.
Local residents have raised concern that the building on the site will be different from that which was approved.
Harrogate Borough Council has acknowledged that the building being constructed is not the same as the designs submitted to the authority.
However, it added that the developer has already submitted another application for the design which is under consideration.
Opening a drive-thru on Wetherby Road is 'nuts'
Joe Shields lives across from the former Dental surgery site where the Leon is being built.
He and other residents have objected to the drive-thru being built since is was first proposed as a Starbucks in 2019.
While he is not against redeveloping the site, he raised concern over the drive-thru and its affect on neighbouring residents.
Read more:
- Harrogate council to pay Leon developer £25,000 in appeal costs
- Harrogate council ‘demonstrated unreasonable behaviour’ over Starbucks rejection, says inspector
Mr Shields, who worked as a marketing manager for various companies including fast-food chains, said:
Mr Shields pointed to the fact that the building at the site does not look like its designs.
A Starbucks drive-thru normally has a slanted roof, while Leon schemes are flat.
(Left) Designs for the Starbucks as submitted to Harrogate Borough Council and (right) the construction site of the Leon.
He questioned how the developer can continue to build a Leon, despite the fact that a government planning inspector gave approval for a Starbucks coffee shop drive-thru.
Last week, Mr Shields was forced to alert the planning authorities when contractors at the site began to erect an eight-metre advertising sign without permission.
He said:
Meanwhile, David Stephenson lives next door to the site on Coachman’s Court.
David Stephenson, whose house on Coachman's Court is next to the drive-thru site on Wetherby Road.
Mr Stephenson has lived with his wife in the same house for six years and would be able to see the serving hatch from his lounge window.
He said that he has accepted the fact that a drive-thru will be built next door to his home.
However, Mr Stephenson said he was concerned that the building being built is not the same as the designs.
He said:
No specific conditions for a coffee shop
The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate Borough Council how the developer was able to build the scheme as a Leon drive-thru when the original approval for the site is for a Starbucks coffee shop.
A spokesperson said:
The Stray Ferret also asked Euro Garages to respond to concerns over the building and erecting advertising without permission, but the company declined to comment.
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