Proposals from EG On The Move to knock down a forecourt in Ipswich, Suffolk, and build a new site, complete with an integrated drive-thru coffee shop, are on hold after the local authority requested more information on road safety and noise impact.
The firm is seeking permission to rebuild the foreourt with a new 3,900sq ft shop complete with an attached 1,400sq ft Costa featuring a drive-thru window that would be accessed by a service lane running behind the shop building.
EGOTM also wants to install two jet wash and four EV charging bays at the site, which it says is currently “tired and dated”.
Back in February the firm faced opposition from the Environment Agency which raised concerns over groundwater contamination from the proposed replacement of the site’s underground fuel tanks.
That objection has been mitigated against, but fresh concerns have been raised about road safety, with locals concerned that the increased traffic noise the coffee shop would likely to bring would increase risk for pedestrians.
Suffolk Police note the forecourt sits near a junction with “a lot of movement”, and that it is “highly unlikely that such a [road] layout would be permitted if the area was being developed from scratch”
Other concerns include noise from the proposed jet washes and the café’s opening hours. While the council says the project is acceptable “in principle”, it requires EGOTM to provide more information on the issues raised before a decision on the project is made.
