Starbucks at former Frankie & Benny's in Newport given go-ahead

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Magic Bean Company had submitted a planning application to turn the now-empty premises into a coffee shop, complete with drive-through.

Located at Newport Retail Park in the Spytty area of the city, the premises has stood empty since June 2020, when Frankie & Benny’s decided against reopening following the first covid lockdown.

According to the applicant, “the building is not providing the jobs and services which it is designed for. It is falling into disrepair.”

But now, its fortunes could be set to be reversed, with plans to bring it back into life as a Starbucks franchise having been approved.

What do plans show?

The major point of debate in terms of the planning application related to alterations being made to the exterior of the building.

These alterations include creating a dedicated drive-through lane, along with structural alterations to the building for delivery windows.

Documents show that a new customer entrance to the sit-in section of the premises would also be created.

According to their application, the agent acting on behalf of the Magic Bean Group said: “external alterations are proposed to brand the unit in accordance with Starbucks national approach.”

Continuing, they said: “The alterations will result in an overall improvement to the appearance of the building which is tired and falling into disrepair due to its ongoing vacancy.”

Inside, there is set to be seating for 110 customers, customer welfare facilities, and a service counter with back of house facilities.

What has been said about the plans?

A crucial element of the application is the creation of the drive-through lane, which would result in the overall retail park losing 15 car parking spaces.

But, two disabled access spaces would also be created, leaving a net loss of 13 spaces.

In considering the application, a Newport City Council planning officer said: “In the grand scheme of things, this worsening is considered to be a minimal and the proposal would bring a currently vacant unit back into a sustainable use and it is considered in this instance that this would outweigh the net loss of two parking spaces.”

Continuing, they said that “it is also worth noting that a lot of the users of the proposed use will already be in the Retail Park and there would be linked trips being made.”

In drawing a conclusion as to the application, the planning officer said: “Overall, the proposal would result in the sustainable re-use of a currently vacant unit that would support the viability and functionality of the Newport Retail Park District Centre.

“Whilst there is a marginal shortfall in parking as required by the change of use and operational development, this is considered to be outweighed by the merits of the scheme in this instance.”