Greggs confirmed as occupant of new Kettering drive-thru unit

Kettering motorists will be able to buy a sausage roll from the comfort of their car after the occupant of a new drive-thru was confirmed.

Bakery chain Greggs – which already has three stores and a petrol station outlet in the town – is set to open at the Stanier Retail Park off Northfield Avenue.

Plans for a new drive-thru there were first mooted nine months ago and were approved in November despite traffic fears.

Until now all planning documents had said the future occupant hadn’t been identified. But this month, after an application to amend the plan was lodged by HB Pearce Contractors Ltd, it was confirmed as Greggs.

A planning letter said: “The future occupant of this unit has now been confirmed as Greggs and in response to further detailed design work that has been undertaken by their team, a non-material amendment is proposed to cover a series of minor external changes to the design.”

We’ve asked Greggs for a comment about the new drive-thru and when it is expected to open but we are yet to receive a response.

The new drive-thru, on a site next to the existing McDonald’s, is set to create about 15 jobs, according to previous planning documents.

Those in units nearby had raised concerns about the impact it would have on the already-congested junction with Northfield Avenue.

The manager of the nearby McDonald’s said that added traffic could be unbearable, adding that there is sometimes gridlock and chaos at peak times.

Kettering Town Council said the extra traffic created by the development would put too much pressure put on the junction with Northfield Avenue.

And charity Teamwork Trust, who have a base in Stanier Close, said that three of their staff members have had their cars written off due to traffic coming out of the retail park.

A transport statement submitted as part of the approved drive-thru plan said that Stanier Close is a private highway and that any queues would not impact on the wider highway network. North Northamptonshire Council planning officers did not object to it.