FLINTSHIRE: Costa Coffee drive-thru plan for Mold refused

Impero Ltd had submitted plans to Flintshire Council on behalf of the coffee chain earlier this year to develop a vacant overgrown site in Chester Road in the town centre, representing a £2m investment which would create 15 jobs.

But fears about phosphates leading to river pollution as a result of the proposed development has seen the plans turned down.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board had raised concerns about the location of the development due to educational settings nearby, and existing restaurants / shops selling predominantly food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar and the health challenges within the area.

Natural Resources Wales also fed back concerns about drainage, while other fears raised by members of the public included the number of coffee shops within a small radius in Mold, and the impact it would have on the highway, particularly the A541 Chester Road.

Some of these were addressed by the applicant in a planning statement and traffic survey submitted with the proposals which said: “Our Highway consultant has reviewed the new Junction design and confirms the development can be adequately accommodated with minor mitigation by way of additional road markings.

“The nature of Costa’s business is that they rely on customers who are already making journeys to nearby commercial premises and/or are travellers already on the highway network.

“They do not expect a large proportion of customers to make sole purpose journeys to them, any traffic generation from any such customers would be the minority, the report estimates 88-90 per cent of traffic will already be on the network.”

It was acknowledged by council planners that these factors could be mitigated and the proposals were generally acceptable.

But ultimately it was the issue of potential river pollution which saw the application refused in a delegated decision by Flintshire Council’s planning department.

Two years ago Natural Resources Wales (NRW) published new targets to reduce river phosphate levels in special areas of conservation (SAC) across Wales.

It followed concerns about an increase in phosphate concentrations – which can cause water pollution in rivers.

While Natural Resources Wales, the Welsh Government and local authorities have been working together to try and find a solution to the issue, progress on developments locally and nationally has slowed, and in some cases stalled or refused on this issue alone.

A report by Flintshire Council planning officer Jenni Perkins made clear that is the case with this application.

She wrote: “In conclusion, the proposal is an appropriate form of development in the location proposed.

“The design and appearance of the development are acceptable and it would not cause detriment to adjacent living conditions.

“Flood risk is mitigated and issues of access can be overcome with the imposition of planning conditions.”

She added: “This being said, the proposal fails to acknowledge the potential impact of phosphate emission into the catchment of the SAC and does not adequately demonstrate that such impact can be negated.

“As such, and in applying a precautionary approach as advised by NRW, the Local Planning Authority cannot rule a potential adverse impact upon the integrity of the SAC.”