Work Starts On New Costa Coffee Drive-thru At Drovers Retail Park Opposite The Range In Ashford

Work on a new Costa drive-thru has started but questions remain over the future of the wider retail park it is set to become a part of.

Construction workers have started clearing land opposite The Range in Ashford along the A20 Fougeres Way which will eventually be turned into Drovers Retail Park.

Work has started on a new Costa Coffee drive-thru set for the Drovers Retail Park

Plans for the development, which will include the drive-thru, and six large shops, were approved by Ashford Borough Council in 2018 but until now there had been no signs of progress.

Machinery moved on to the site earlier this month and Costa Coffee has confirmed it hopes to have the drive-thru open later this year.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed planning permission has been granted for the new branch.

“We look forward to opening a new store for the local community and those on the go,” they added.

It is not clear if the ongoing work is also the start of the other retail units being built.

How Drovers Retail Park is set to look in Ashford

When the plans were first approved six years ago, The Range was set to fill one of the new shops but has since taken over the former John Lewis department store opposite.

It opened in March 2022, almost a year after John Lewis confirmed its ‘At Home’ store had closed for good.

Budget chain Home Bargains has also been linked to the development, but the company was unable to comment further when approached by KentOnline.

The discount company already has a shop in the town on the nearby Warren Retail Park next to an M&S Foodhall, but chiefs say the site is “too small” and “does not meet the current store requirements of 20,000-25,000 sq ft”.

Another store that was previously earmarked for the site was the country’s first purpose-built Bunnings store.