A new drive-thru Starbucks coffee shop will be built in Long Eaton despite protests from a neighbouring business and traffic concerns.
At an Erewash Borough Council meeting on Wednesday, 10 June, councillors approved plans to demolish the derelict former police station in Midland Street, Long Eaton, and replace it with a Starbucks drive-thru coffee shop.
The plan, from Stronghold Commercial Properties, would create 20–25 new jobs, the firm told the meeting.
Vaughan Morris, a Long Eaton resident and member of the Town Deal Board, said the drive-through coffee shop would “undermine the town centre by directing footfall away from the high street”.
He said it would also direct more traffic onto the road, which is currently widely used by the neighbouring health centre.
Mr Morris said the plan would also “undermine” the £25 million Town Deal upgrades, which include cycle route expansion and a new bridge from the Britannia Mills site, arguing that the drive-through coffee shop was “incompatible” with those aims and would further the issue of Long Eaton being “a drive-through town”.
He said the former police station ought to be put to better use as a community centre.
Maria Wilkinson is the owner of Mini First Aid Nottingham and Derby, housed in the neighbouring building between the police station and the listed Town Hall.
She told the meeting that the very future of her business, which has provided first aid education to 20,000 people since 2021, would be directly impacted and potentially threatened by the drive-through scheme.
This is because of potential noise disruption from vehicles entering for drinks and other goods, waste vehicles, and order-taking tannoy systems.
Ms Wilkinson said many of the groups that use her business’s services, including baby groups, may not see it as a viable location for support if it is not as quiet as it is now.
She said: “This is not a minor inconvenience. It could drastically threaten our income and our future.”
Stuart Allan, a former member of the Town Deal Board, said the new Britannia Mills bridge was nearing completion, and the introduction of more vehicle traffic following cycle route improvements was not welcome.
He said: “We have numerous cafés on the high street. Is there genuinely a need for more?
“My conversations with people on the high street show minimal enthusiasm and much positive rejection. ‘This is a stupid location off the beaten track’ was a typical comment.”
He urged councillors to reject the “ill-thought-out” plan, think long term, and support a better town centre.
Matthew Gray, agent for the applicants, said the investment in the town centre should be welcomed and that the 20–25 jobs provided would likely be filled by young people living in the surrounding area.
He said the building would be less prominent than the current police station and would also provide eight much-needed high-powered 150 kW electric car charging points.
Mr Gray said the reuse of a derelict town centre brownfield site is a positive for the town and that there “will not be any impact on any business in the surrounding area”.
Councillor Kevin Miller (Con) said: “What I would really like to see on this site is a police station, but we are not going to get one. We can’t vote on ifs, buts, and maybes; it is about the Starbucks application we are voting on tonight.
“As far as I am concerned, any commercial development from an established company in Long Eaton should be welcomed.”
Councillor Joel Bryan (Lab) said: “It is not for the planning committee to have Stalin-like powers to say how much of anything we have in a town centre. There may be plenty of coffee shops, but that is not for the planning committee.
“This creates jobs and is a good economic boost, whether or not there is a need for it. It may fail, but that is for the market to decide.”
Councillor Ann Mills (Gre) said: “This is just convincing more people to go around the green (roundabout), with people having to leave the site and re-enter to enjoy their coffee in the lovely surroundings of the car park.
“We have fought Starbucks before (at the Sandiacre interchange last summer) and won; we can do it again.”
Cllr Miller added: “Hundreds of thousands of young people are looking for jobs this summer; it is all over the news, and this will create a lot of jobs.”
Councillors approved the plans by a vote of nine in favour, one against, and one abstention.
