Plans submitted to turn Fylde Coast car dealership into a drive-through Starbucks

Last week, Fylde Council received a planning application for the Seat Dealership on Lytham St Annes Way in Westby with Plumptons.

The application, submitted on behalf of Cox Motor Group which runs the Blackpool Seat branch, is seeking a “change of use and external alteration of the existing building to facilitate use as a drive thru coffee shop, including provision of 30 parking spaces, 6 public electric vehicle charging bays, drive thru lane and landscaping.”

The planning statement reveals that “[n]ational franchisee partners for Starbucks has agreed to occupy the unit subject to receipt of a planning permission allowing for its use as a drive thru coffee shop and associated external and layout changes.”

The site was a Seat dealership up until 2024, when Blackpool Seat moved into the same building as the Blackpool Honda branch opposite the road, which is also run by the Morecambe based company Cox Motor Group.

The planning statement submitted with the application states: “The proposed development will enable the re-occupation of the vacant building as a drive-thru coffee house such as Starbucks. It will facilitate the creation of approximately 20-25 FTE jobs, as well as providing an improved choice of food and beverage facilities in addition to meeting and community facilities for users of the highway network in addition tobusinesses in the vicinity.

“No existing Starbucks outlet within the Council area (or surrounding Council’s) will be impacted in the event that planning permission is approved for the proposed development.”

Plan drawings show that the exisiting car showroom space would become a drive thru coffee shop measuring 237 square metres with a back of cafe area that measures 155 square meteres.

This back of cafe area will be where the order point is for cars lining up outside in the drive thru road, the collection point is then at the end of the drive thru coffee shop.

In front of the drive thru coffee shop there would then be 36 car park spaces - six of which are public electric vehicle charging bays - which is total loss of 24 car parking spaces comapred to when the site was a dealership.

The applicaiton form states that the Starbucks is expected to have 12 full-time staff and 12 part-time staff.

The opening hours for the Starbucks is not detailed in the planning application.

A spokesperson for the Cox Motor Group also confirmed that the Honda bike store next door to the site will not be affected by the proposed changes.

The application was validated on February 1 and the consultation ends on March 3 2025.

You can read the full planning application on the Fylde Council website here.