Coffee and food chain gains permission to open in Bognor Regis retail park

Planners at Arun District Council approved a new Tim Hortons branch at Arun Retail Park, on Wednesday (28 September).

The new store will open at the former Pizza Hut restaurant, opposite Costa Coffee.

It will be Tim Hortons’ second West Sussex branch following the grand opening of its Chichester restaurant today (September 29).

It is estimated that 50 new jobs will be created at the store which will serve doughnuts, coffee, paninis, hot sandwiches, and wraps.

The currently empty building will be repainted red and black and a drive-thru will be added within the existing car park.

Speaking at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday, Tim Horton’s UK chief commercial officer Kevin Hydes said: “For those of you who don’t know us, Tim Hortons provides a coffee and bakehouse offer selling a range of hot food and cold drinks, including the famous Tim Hortons doughnuts.

“We are a relatively new entrant to the UK market but we’re actively seeking to expand across the UK and Bognor would be our second store on the south coast after Chichester.”

In August, Mr Hydes said the company hopes to have 80 stores in the UK by the end of the year.

It opened its first UK branch in 2017.

The plans were resubmitted following concerns about tree felling.

Bersted Parish Council objected to the new plans due to tree felling and the fact that there are already a number of drive-thrus nearby.

Two trees will still be lost but the applicant says they are in ‘category U’ and are likely to be affected by disease.

The trees will be replaced like for like and two more will also be planted.

Some members of ADC’s planning committee were sceptical about the proposals.

Martin Lury (LDem, Bersted) and Isabel Thurston (Green, Barnham) called the loss of trees ‘regrettable’.

Ricky Bower (Con, East Preston) expressed concerns about parking.

He noted that Arun Retail Park is already busy and fills up with ‘Chelsea Tractors’ (4x4s) which could see further issues once the drive-thru is up and running.

However, the committee could not find a valid reason to refuse the application and voted to approve it.