Around 20 new jobs will be coming to Bridgwater after plans for a new Costa Coffee drive-thru outlet near the M5 were approved.

Forelle Estates Ltd. applied in March 2022 to build a new outlet near the existing Dunball Services on the Dunball roundabout, which connects Junction 23 of the M5 to the town centre via the A38 Bristol Road.

The new outlet will be operated by Costa Coffee and will be open daily between 6am and 11pm, creating up to 21 local jobs.

In one of its final actions before being abolished, Sedgemoor District Council has given these plans the green light – though construction will have to work around the £5.3m improvement scheme currently being implemented at the Dunball roundabout.

The site lies off the western arm of the Dunball roundabout (known as Old Works Road), to the north of both the existing BP petrol station and the Hinkley Point C park and ride facility.

A new access road will be created as part of the plans, joining up with the existing mini-roundabout and leading to a car park with 29 car parking spaces, along with two disabled spaces, ten cycle spaces and two bays for motorcycles.

Outline permission for the petrol station and three industrial units was granted in December 2018 – though to date only the petrol station has been constructed.

As part of the development, a new cycle link will be created to connect the site to the existing cycle provision alongside the A38.

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This forms part of the wider 'purple route' which will eventually link the Gravity enterprise zone to Bridgwater town centre under the town's local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP).

The council approved the plans through the delegated powers of its planning officers – who insisted this route be completed before the outlet could begin operating.

Stuart Houlet, the council's assistant director for inward investment and growth, said: "The first use of the premises hereby permitted shall not commence until the cycle lane and foot way connections have been provided and connected to the public highway network.

"The connections shall thereafter be retained and maintained and the outlet shall not operate unless the connections are available for use by the public."

The drive-thru is expected to employ nine full-time staff and 12 part-time staff.