McDonald’s and Costa Coffee drive throughs to come to Eastbourne

Plans have been conditionally approved by Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) to knock down two units within The Crumbles in Sovereign Harbour Retail Park which is made up of 11 units and a petrol station. The plans say: “The site currently comprises two vacant retail units to the north of the retail park, previously occupied by Frankie and Benny’s and Defiant Sports.”

According to the proposal, unit 1 will become a Costa Coffee drive through, and unit 2 will be a McDonald’s. The closest Costa Coffee drive through is currently in Hampden Retail Park, and there’s a McDonald’s drive through in Lottbridge Drove.

Plans say the objectives of the proposal are to ‘enhance the existing uses of Sovereign Harbour Retail Park by providing two new drive through pod units’ and ‘provide employment opportunities for local people’.

The access point to the site will stay the same - to the north of the site, which stems straight from the A259 and leads to Waterfront car park. However, the changes will alter the car parking layout and result in a loss of 35 parking spaces in total. There will also be an increase in disability spaces though, rising to 28, and five new motorbike spaces.

38 full-time jobs and 69 part-time jobs will also be created according to the plans.

Writing ahead of its approval, Mr Paul Lewry had objected to the plans due to concerns that the McDonalds would encourage anti-social behiaviour.

He said: “I would like to object to the proposal of McDonalds being built on the Sovereign harbour site. My concerns are that it would encourage unsocial behaviour by boy racers and generate more litter around the area, my other concern is this would increase more traffic in and out the retail park.

"If proposals go ahead I would hope that MacDonalds would not make it 24 hours but to have a closing time of 22:00 hours and to have lockable barriers into there car park.”

Resident Tony Lee however backed the plans and said in a letter to the council: “[The space] desperately needs utilising rather than having empty buildings.”