PLANS have been drawn up for a coffee chain to move to a new site in Lichfield city centre.
A two-storey side extension is proposed for the site currently occupied by Your Co-op Travel alongside the former Friary Shoes outlet at Baker’s Lane.
Coffee outlet Costa hopes to move into the new expanded unit from the one it currently occupies opposite.
A planning statement said:
“The proposal is for external works to an existing vacant commercial unit within the city centre to refurbish and extend it to enable its reoccupation.
“The reconfigured unit will be occupied by Costa which is relocating to the new unit.
“It will provide Costa with modern unit and a new external seating area.
“The new external seating area will tie in with new public realm being developed as part of the redevelopment of the former Debenhams to provide a new cinema and new food and beverage floorspace within the city centre that is currently under construction.”
The new Costa unit would sit on the route created towards the Birmingham Road Site following the demolition of shops within the Three Spires Shopping Centre.
The planning documents added:
“Historically, number 34 was located in a terrace of shops, but now the demolition works undertaken in 2024 to remove numbers 36 to 44 have been undertaken, it now sits in a prominent location with its existing side elevation facing the new cinema and dining complex.
“The redevelopment of this existing unit is critical to not just the physical appearance of this unit, but also the impact that it has on the proposed external public realm space.
“It is already acknowledged that the creation of a public space that will create an attractive environment for the setting of the new leisure and food and beverage uses that will in turn activate the public space and importantly provide permeability through to the future development that will be planned on council land.
“The appearance of this this connectivity is critical to the ability to deliver that regeneration and ensure the future vitality of the city centre.
“The proposal therefore not only helps to ensure the vitality and viability of the city centre on its own, it is the vital part of the jigsaw to facilitating the future development of the city centre.”
Full details can be seen on Lichfield District Council’s planning website.
