An objection has been made by the town council against a proposed new Costa Coffee drive through in Andover.

Andover Town Council’s planning committee lodged an objection against the plans, saying that the site could result in “a danger of tailbacks causing excessive traffic congestion”.

The Costa Coffee branch is planned to be located on the junction of Watery Lane and New Street, adjacent to the roundabout, with councillors worried that traffic to the site could block other road users.

Cllr Barbara Long was first to raise concerns on the plan, saying that queues at the coffee shop could block cars. There was also discussion of the possibility of potential accidents at the site.

She said: “It’s going to be very busy if there was a queue at Costa’s drive through, because then it will be blocking cars going into the petrol station. There are plans to have a place to eat in front of the unit, so it’s not just a drive through but people can park and call into Costa’s and drink their coffee as well.”

Cllr Long also raised a potential concern that the site would have too much development, with the other outlets at the site already providing coffee.

She said: “You’ve already got McDonalds drive through and in the garage you’ve got Subway where you can get coffee. I wonder if this is overdevelopment as you’ve got three places within the garage complex providing coffees.”

Cllr Luigi Gregori said that the county council had assessed the issue of traffic and found that it was acceptable, though said they had “challenged some of the figures the developer has used.”

“I think we need to be very clear on what we’re objecting to,” he said. “We need a lot better clarity over transport. It is a busy junction, and the problem with it is that it’s coming off a big roundabout and then comes onto this here with lots of roads coming off all over it. I am very careful driving there as it is a hazard area.”

The planning committee subsequently resolved to make an objection regarding the “danger of tailbacks causing excessive traffic congestion”, which will be considered by Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) officers when deciding on the planning application.

To have your say on the application, visit TVBC’s planning site and search with the application number - 20/03236/FULLN.