A global cafe chain is set to occupy an upcoming drive-thru near a junction for one of the busiest roads in Reading.
Plans for a ‘takeaway pod’ in Scours Lane were approved on appeal to the government’s planning inspectorate in March 2024.
The site is located just off Oxford Road and the Norcot Junction, which connects with Norcot Road and Wigmore Lane.
It is also near the Stadium Way Industrial Estate, which is home to Double-Barreled Brewery, Screwfix, and The Climbing Hangar.
The latest news is that Starbucks is due to occupy the pod once it is built.
The development company that owns the site has won permission to install a totem sign promoting both the drive-thru and electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities that customers will be able to make use of.
Planning documents state that 22 parking spaces will be created, of which five will be Zest ultra-rapid EV charging points and three will be for disabled blue badge users.
Assessing the application for the totem pole, Reading Borough Council planning officer Catrin Davies wrote: “Given that the site has permission to be redeveloped and would introduce a commercial use onto the grassland, the proposed advertisement consent would not be out of character.
“The application is for a single sign to ensure there is not an over cluttering at the site and is at a suitable size.
“The proposed signage is visually acceptable given the extant consent at the site and in keeping with the surrounding area.”
While Mrs Davies noted that the pole will be installed in an area of soft landscaping on the site that will be used for biodiversity enhancements, she considered that sufficient space has been left for tree planting.
If adjustments to the locations of these trees are needed, the changes can be made once the landscaping plans are finalised.
The application for the totem pole was approved on Friday, May 22.
You can view the application by typing reference PL/26/0292 into the council’s planning portal.
It is not clear when building work on the takeaway facility will begin.
The project has not appeared on the Construction Map website yet, which identifies sites where building work is taking place.
However, not all construction projects are featured because the website only maps work that is undertaken by companies that are part of the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS).
The plan was controversial as it was rejected by the council’s planning applications committee in September 2022.
The reasons for refusal: the fragmentation of a green link and insufficient landscaping measures were rebuffed by the planning inspectorate.
Appearance plans for Starbucks to occupy the facility were submitted but withdrawn in June last year.
