Bridgwater coffee-lovers can soon grab a hot drink following their weekly shop after plans for a new Starbucks were approved.

WM Morrisons Supermarkets plc applied to build a drive-thru coffee outlet in the north-eastern corner of the car park of their existing store on The Broadway.

Sedgemoor District Council’s development committee voted in February to defer a decision, citing concerns about the outlet’s impact on air pollution, anti-social behaviour and existing businesses in the town centre.

One month on, the plans were approved by the same committee, despite ongoing concerns about air pollution, littering and anti-social behaviour.

The outlet will be occupied by Starbucks as part of a plan to “rejuvenate under-used areas” of the car park, creating up to 15 full-time jobs.

As well as the drive-thru lane, customers will be provided with a choice of outdoor seating, with the outlet being open daily between 5am and 11pm (including Sundays and bank holidays).

Michael Powell, speaking on behalf of the applicant, told the committee in Bridgwater on Tuesday morning (March 8) that littering would be managed through both a private contractor and Morrisons’s existing litter-picking regime.

He added: “The existing car park is camera-controlled, with a maximum stay of three hours.

"Morrisons has systems in place for dealing with any anti-social behaviour in their car parks, through liaison with the local community, through to instigating additional security and restrictive access measures to prevent such behaviour persisting.

“The proposed development is not predicted to result in a traffic increase above relevant criteria; there won’t be any significant effects over air quality.”

Councillor Tony Heywood – who represents the neighbouring Bridgwater Eastover ward – maintained that it was “quite likely” the site would become subject to anti-social behaviour if permission was granted.

He said: “Because Morrisons car park is privately owned, the police are reluctant to get involved.

"We found this at the Sainsbury’s car park [on The Clink] when we tried to restrict access there.”

Councillor Kathy Pearce – whose Bridgwater Westover ward includes the site – said she was still “bothered” by the environmentally unfriendly nature of the proposed development.

She said: “The business model of a drive-thru supports engine idling and the generation of disposable cups, and therefore it is inevitable that it will create an increase in litter – whether it be on this site or whether it be someone flinging their cup out of the car door when they’re on their way home.

“I find it hard to understand how this can come to this committee when it is opposed to our policy on carbon emissions.”

Councillor Alistair Hendry, by contrast, said the concerns over pollution and littered were largely irrelevant since people would have to use their cars to access the existing coffee outlets in the town centre.

He said: “There are plenty of wonderful coffee shops in the town, but people would still have to drive there, still have to park their cars, and if they go to any takeaway food shops like fish and chips or pizzas, they’re still going to walk away with their own wrappings, cardboard boxes or polystyrene.

“Once they leave the premises, it’s down to them – it’s not down to the coffee shop owners. It’s an unfair appraisal to say they’re going to throw cups out of the window.”

After around half an hour’s debate, the committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of nine votes to three, with two abstentions.