Plans to open a branch of the popular coffee and donut chain Tim Hortons in Oldham have been approved.
The Canadian company had applied last summer to open a restaurant in the former Bridgewater Hotel pub on Manchester Road.
Under the plans, part of the building will be demolished to accommodate a drive-thru lane, which would reduce the overall size by 38 sqm.
The pub closed in March 2020 following a ‘sustained period of trading issues’, according to a planning statement submitted on behalf of Tim Hortons.
The company says the new use would be ‘broadly similar’ offering food and drink in a location where ‘people can meet and socialise in a family friendly setting’.
It adds the plans would ‘improve consumer choice’ for people in the local area.
The proposals have now been approved by the local planning authority, paving the way for Tim Horton’s to meet its projected opening time later this year.
However Transport for Greater Manchester had raised concerns that the number of journeys to and from the restaurant predicted by the company were too low.
The former Bridgewater Hotel pub. Image: Google Maps.
They asked that the company fund re-configuration of the existing traffic light system around the junction of Manchester Road and Chapel Road, and increase the amount of cycle storage provision.
The drive-thru would be accessed from the existing car park, which currently has 47 spaces but which would be reduced to 36, with two disabled spaces.
“It will result in a significant upgrade to the current physical appearance of the site and thus its impact on the appearance of the area will be positive,” the supporting document with the application stated.
“The proposed development will improve the visual appearance of a run-down site through reinvigorating the appearance of the building and providing more soft landscaping.”
While a number of other sites were considered in Oldham town centre and Failsworth, the empty Bridgewater Hotel was deemed to be the most suitable site and the easiest to deliver.
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